Jordan Pickford has refuted all claims regarding his recent downfall in form.
The Everton custodian is likely to be in the goal when England host the Czech Republic in a European qualifier on Sunday. The Toffees number one had an excellent World Cup in Russia last year but since then he has failed to maintain that tempo.
His habit of making errors once again became evident as Everton went on to lose against Newcastle United 3-2 despite leading 2-0 at one time. He can consider himself lucky as his foul on Salomon Rondon looked very sloppy but he escaped a red card.
Burnley keeper Tom Heaton was expected to be called in but Southgate confirmed Pickford’s place by accompanying him to the press conference. The former Sunderland goalkeeper said, “It’s great for me.
“I feel like, apart from the Newcastle game, I’ve been in a good run of form.
“In the Newcastle game, I made a mistake and bounced back with a good performance against Chelsea, so that shows my mentality and my character in myself, and I think that’s been good for me.
“The manager has put faith in me to start tomorrow. I’ve been training well all week as well, so that’s good.”
