\u201cIt ramps up now, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d he said after his 46th clean sheet, and sixth at the World Cup<\/a>, from 87 caps. \u201cIt\u2019s a proper phase of football. One game at a time. There are lads who have won Champions Leagues, lads who have been in youth tournaments with England. Everyone knows the pressure of it and I think that is where you will see us thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Pickford joined Everton from Sunderland during England\u2019s run to the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championships<\/a> in Poland in 2017, when they were defeated by Germany in a penalty shootout. Other than six games of a Europa League campaign in his first season at Goodison Park, his non-domestic experience has been limited to international football. Pickford has looked shaky at times in England\u2019s first three matches and was extremely fortunate not to be punished for charging out of his penalty area and clattering the Ghana substitute Prince Kwabena<\/a> <\/a>Adu<\/a>, but his record for the senior side remains unblemished.<\/p>\n Jordan Pickford clatters into Ghana\u2019s Prince Kwabena Adu \u2013 one of a few shaky moments for the England goalkeeper. Photograph: MB Media\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Dean Henderson has been pushing hard after an excellent season at Crystal Palace, but there was never any question who would be Tuchel\u2019s No 1 at this World Cup. Pickford is one of the last remnants of the Gareth Southgate era still in the starting XI and his muscle memory at major tournaments could be a big advantage for England<\/a> as they head into the knockout stages.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not too different,\u201d he said when asked how they would approach the next few days. \u201cWe\u2019ve got our goal. You work on the training pitch, you keep that enjoyment and keep that fun environment. But once you\u2019re training you\u2019re working, you take the messages in and for me that\u2019s the glue really. Because you want to be enjoying it but you don\u2019t want to be solely focused on too much tomorrow, thinking about the next game.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to have that recovery environment but when we\u2019re off the pitch it\u2019s like our downtime and [we can] relax and have fun between us. And that\u2019s what we do. That\u2019s what I feel we\u2019ve got right since I got here in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n If there is one marked difference between England under Tuchel and Southgate it has been the approach to defending. As was evident against Panama when they were almost caught out on more than one occasion, there has been a conscious effort to take more risks by pushing Nico O\u2019Reilly high up the pitch from left back, often leaving his fellow defenders one-on-one. But Pickford believes that it could unlock their attacking potential.<\/p>\n
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