Jordan Pickford set to wear England No 1 shirt against Netherlands
Gareth Southgate is increasingly inclined to hand the No 1 shirt to Jordan Pickford for the friendly against the Netherlands on Friday night after the Everton goalkeeper impressed the England coaching staff in training at St George’s Park.
The England manager took the unusual step of naming four goalkeepers in his squad for the games against the Dutch and, next Tuesday, against Italy having admitted last week that Joe Hart is no longer his first-choice for the role. Hart, the most experienced member of the party but who has only recent regained his place at West Ham, has joined Pickford, Stoke City’s Jack Butland and the uncapped Nick Pope of Burnley in the 26-man squad, all of whom trained on Wednesday.
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Southgate is expected to offer both Pickford and Butland significant game time across the two matches. Yet the Everton youngster, capped for the first time in the goalless draw with Germany last November, may now be granted the first opportunity to stake his claim to start in goal at the World Cup this summer. The 24-year-old has emerged as the likeliest candidate to start in the Amsterdam Arena, with his distribution in particular having marked him out.
The Football Association is confident there will be no repeat of the scenes which marred England’s visit to Dortmund to play Germany last year in the fixture on Friday. Around 5,200 away fans – all members of the England Supporters’ Club – have bought tickets for the friendly against the Dutch, though there is an acceptance that there may be other away fans in the ground given Amsterdam’s reputation as a tourist destination.
Dialogue continues between the British police delegation, made up of officers from the United Kingdom Footballing Policing Unit, and their counterparts in the Netherlands to ensure everything goes smoothly this week. The FA issued lengthy bans to two fans for making Nazi gestures during the 1-0 defeat by the Germans.
