MY ACCOUNT
Jordan Pickford has been practising penalties ahead of England’s World Cup quarter-final against France and is more than willing to step up and take one if required.
The 28-year-old has been in inspired form for England across their four games in Qatar so far, keeping three clean sheets in a row and conceding just twice all tournament.
After finishing top of Group B and overcoming Senegal 3-0 in the last 16, the Three Lions now face a mouthwatering showdown with France at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday.
Friday’s two quarter-finals went to penalties, with Croatia eliminating Brazil and Argentina defeating the Netherlands, and Pickford is prepared for England’s tie to go the distance.
“You have to be ready for anything. You can’t not practise them, you can’t just go in and think ‘I’ll be alright’,” Pickford said.
“I have to be prepared to take one and be prepared to save one.
“If it comes down to it I’ll step up and take one, but it’s not my call. It’s the manager’s call and the backroom staff.”
England have a chequered history when it comes to penalty shoot-outs, though Pickford has won two out of three during his time as the Three Lions’ number one.
The Everton keeper saved two of the five penalties he faced in last year’s Euro 2020 final against Italy, though it was not enough to prevent England falling to a 3-2 shoot-out loss.
“For me, penalty shoot-outs, I’ve got my same process which I do all the time,” Pickford added. “In each individual penalty I’m facing, I will do the same thing.
“I don’t change my process and hopefully I go the right way and execute the save. You can do research but it’s about executing your process, your dive on the night.
“They’ve got their process as a penalty taker, and as a goalkeeper I’ve got my process. It’s whoever comes out on top on that individual penalty.”
England have been eliminated from six of their past eight World Cup knockout matches against fellow European nations.
By contrast, France have progressed from eight of their past 10 World Cup knockout matches against European opposition, including third-place play-offs and finals.
