England: Does Jordan Pickford finally face serious competition from James Trafford?

Pickford’s record is outstanding since he made his debut in a 0-0 draw against Germany at Wembley in 2017.

In his time as first choice, England have once more emerged as major players on global stage, reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and 2026, as well as successive Euros finals at the delayed 2020 tournament and Euro 2024.

Measured by Opta stats, Pickford has made only two errors leading to goals in 93 appearances, with 46 clean sheets and a 74% save ratio.

Trafford’s international career is in its infancy and, while former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson says Pickford remains Tuchel’s undisputed first choice, he believes the head coach’s recent strategy is a sensible one.

Robinson told BBC Sport: “It obviously remains to be seen what Thomas Tuchel does in these two England games, but I could see exactly what he was doing by giving James Trafford game time in the last round of matches.

“We are so guilty as a nation of taking one goalkeeper to a tournament who has 70, 80, 90 caps, then the two of three below him could have less than double figures combined.”

Robinson’s point is proved by the statistic that 80 of Pickford’s appearances have been competitive games, with 33 at major tournaments, made up of 19 at the World Cup and 14 at European Championships.

“Competitive and tournament caps give you the type of experience you can’t get as a number two or three keeper,” said Robinson.

“James Trafford is only 24 and has four caps – two of them competitive – so you can see exactly what Tuchel is doing, looking ahead to a situation where England’s recognised number one is not available to him, or there is a drop off in form.

“We saw the last selections and all thought Jordan Pickford’s place is under threat and James Trafford is going to be the next number one. I don’t think Thomas Tuchel saw it as starkly or simply as that.

“It’s a conversation that will definitely take place down the road, but not now. Jordan is England’s first choice, in my opinion, rightfully so given his consistency and performances over such a long period.

“This is a debate and conversation for the future definitely because Father Time catches up with everyone eventually and the manager needs to have a contingency plan, but Jordan Pickford very much remains number one and Thomas Tuchel has said as much.

“I don’t think Jordan Pickford is under threat for his jersey on a permanent basis any time soon, irrespective of the next selection, but what Tuchel is doing reinforces the impression that he has to be at the top of his game and maintain high standards, which he certainly has been doing when I’ve watched him this season.

“The biggest compliment I can pay Jordan Pickford is that when you have got that England goalkeeper’s shirt, everybody thinks somebody else should be doing it. I know that from personal experience.

“You’re there to be shot at, but there has been no noise around Jordan Pickford for a very long time now.

“It has worked both ways for Jordan, James and Thomas Tuchel, and worked very well. Jordan knows he can’t rest on his laurels and he will just play regardless. He has to be playing well.

“Is James Trafford challenging Jordan Pickford right now? Yes he is – if Jordan Pickford isn’t playing very well and Jordan Pickford is making errors.

“None of the above are true right now because he’s playing well for Everton and has done nothing wrong for England.”

Robinson also drew on club form to support Pickford’s case. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, only Arsenal’s title-winning keeper David Raya has more clean sheets in the league than Pickford at Everton.

Raya has 39 clean sheets in that time, while Pickford has 27, with Robinson saying: “That’s a superb record and all logic tells you Pickford will have to work a lot harder for his clean sheets than David Raya.”