Jordan Pickford reveals how a moment of anger against Sweden caused a freak thumb injury.

Thankfully for the England team and their fans, no harm was done, but it could have been a lot worse.

Pickford has impressed against Sweden and Colombia with some excellent shot-stopping performances, recovering from a small error against Belgium in England’s only defeat of the tournament.

Perhaps his crowning achievement was a superb stop from Carlos Bacca’s penalty in the shootout against Colombia. England will be looking forward to another resolute performance as they prepare to take on Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals.

England and Pickford are fortunate to have him ready for the match, when he lashed out in the game. He seems determined to continue between the sticks, though.

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Pickford explained:

“It was a daft injury by myself.

“I went to punch the floor and ended up punching my knee and hurt my thumb. It was a bit of anger. But I’m a man, not a mouse. I’m fine and I’ll live another day, won’t I?”