This is the first in a weekly series where I look at the England squad and giving my thoughts on who is and whether or not they should be going. Goalkeepers is a good place to start and especially for England as well all know who is going to be starting in goal for the Three Lions in the summer at what is now, our home tournament. Which may change who we should or shouldn’t take. For me, there are 5 keepers to consider. The 3 who have been in the last couple squads and are the favourites to make the squad and an additional 2.
Jordan Pickford
I’m starting with what will be the starter. England fans are divided on whether Pickford should be our no. 1. At club level where we seem him week in week out, he doesn’t fill us with hope or expectation. However, in an England shirt he hasn’t let us down yet. He had some great performances at the 2018 Russia World Cup which included a penalty shootout win. As well as that save against Columbia! The reason Jordan will be no. 1 is his distribution, no one denies his range of passing for a goalkeeper is potentially world class and that does give England options in how to progress up the pitch when the forwards always know they could be in on goal with one pass from the keeper. That’s something none of the other keepers can offer and therefore need to be clearly a level above the Washington born goalie when it comes to shot stopping and commanding the box.
Dean Henderson
Likely the future England no.1 but doesn’t hasn’t yet played enough football to displace the Everton man. I think that’s general consensus amongst the fans with some of us thinking maybe we should let him be the starter or we may miss an opportunity with top young outfielders who’ve been in the squad for years and a keeper who’s caps can be counted on one hand. Now, if this wasn’t a home tournament, I would be in this camp. There is a bid for a combined UK and Ireland 2030 World Cup but we might not get it and we don’t know when we’ll have this opportunity for a home tournament and therefore should go all out to win, which means the experience of Pickford is the safer bet.
Nick Pope
This is where the opinions get spicy. To clarify, if my opinion mattered, he’d likely be my choice to start given I feel he is the best goalkeeper and with back to back tournaments and some great players approaching 30 and Jordan Henderson who is now in his 30’s, we have enough players in their peak to have a shot at winning the upcoming tournaments. Having said all that, given Pickford is the nailed on starter and Dean Henderson needs the experience to take over as first choice, I don’t see the point of Pope being in the squad. The likelihood of having two keepers out injured, especially two who aren’t injury prone, is exceptionally rare. So, the 3rd keeper spot, like in club football we should maybe not think of as a player who will start and can offer other qualities.
Joe Hart
My pick for who should go to the tournament ahead of Nick Pope. With 75 caps he has more than double the caps of the previous three combined. What he can offer as off the field support for Pickford and Henderson is more important than being an option to play. With Pope being 28 he isn’t the future like the 23 year old Manchester United keeper is. Joe Hart with all the England, Premier League and Champions League experience he has will be a benefit to the training and preparation of the other two. As well as that he can work with the rest of the squad by being giving them an experienced keeper to train against while the starter and back up can focus on their own preparation.
Aaron Ramsdale
For me, the least likely and hardest to make a case for as someone who should be in the squad. Similar to Henderson, putting him in the squad would be about giving him experience in and around the England set up for the future, so maybe a qualifier would make more sense. The other issue with this argument is that he is likely going to be relegated this season with Sheffield United and if he is playing Championship football he won’t be in contention for the national team. We saw this with Jack Butland who looked like he was going to be England’s no. 1 but after he went down with Stoke City, his opportunities dried up and will likely not have another game for England again.
Predicted 3: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley) and Dean Henderson (Manchester United)
My 3: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Manchester United) and Joe Hart (Tottenham Hotspur)
Comments