Gareth Southgate insists Jordan Pickford has "always played well" for England and backed the Everton goalkeeper to continue as the Three Lions' number one.
Pickford's place in Southgate's side has been called into question throughout his time as first choice, though the form of Aaron Ramsdale for Arsenal this season has resulted in increased examination of who deserves to play between the posts.
Everton's form has not helped, with the Toffees struggling in 17th place in the Premier League and having conceded the joint fifth-highest number of goals in the competition this season (47).
Pickford, meanwhile, has conceded 44 of those goals, from 25 appearances. Even if he has been a relatively consistent performer in a disappointingly inconsistent Everton side, only three Premier League goalkeepers have conceded more so far this season, though the 28-year-old has been kept busy, with his 85 saves ranking as the sixth-highest.
His save percentage of 65.9 is the seventh-lowest of goalkeepers to have featured at least 10 times in the top flight, and is way down compared to Ramsdale's impressive 76.3 per cent.
Pickford has, however, slightly overperformed his expected goals on target conceded (xGOT), by 0.6, though Ramsdale again comes out top in this metric, with a goals prevented figure of 3.3.
Yet on the international stage, Pickford is still Southgate's undisputed number one. He made three saves as England came from behind to beat Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday, including a stunning stop from Fabian Frei when the visitors were 1-0 up.
"He's always played well for us and he has a good focus with us," Southgate told a news conference.
"He has a very good relationship with [goalkeeper coach] Martyn Margetson, who I think does an excellent job with him. So, he knows the structure around him. He knows clearly how we want him to play.
"There is competition for everybody's position and that's what we want. We don't want people just sitting, thinking confidently that there's no competition that doesn't help a team.
"I think the form of the other goalkeepers is important. But he showed again, big saves at important moments."
Pickford has kept 20 clean sheets from 43 England appearances, conceding 32 times and not making a single error that has resulted in a goal.
Indeed, at Euro 2020, he kept five clean sheets – more than any other goalkeeper – while his save percentage (88.9) was also the best in the competition.
"I thought he was very calm with the ball," added Southgate. "That allowed us to relieve the pressure by going back and out of the press.
"Of course, he's got every club in the bag because he can go long, which is a problem for teams as well. So a very good performance from him, especially the saves in the first half."
The Premier League statistics this season do not back up claims of Pickford's reliable distribution, however, with his passing accuracy of 48.9 per cent ranking the third worst of goalkeepers with over 10 Premier League appearances.
That data could be skewed slightly by the fact that only Burnley's Nick Pope has attempted more long passes this season (581 compared to 544), with Everton have preferred a more direct approach under previous manager Rafael Benitez.
Carragher says Liverpool may need to move on from Salah and Nunez
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's next manager has a big decision to make regarding Mohamed Salah's future, adding the Reds definitely need to move on from Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool's title hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow at Goodison Park on Wednesday, as goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin handed Everton a memorable 2-0 win.
The defeat – Liverpool's first at Goodison since 2010 – means they are three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and one clear of Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
Jurgen Klopp now looks likely to end his final season at the helm with just February's EFL Cup triumph to show for his efforts, with Carragher declaring Liverpool's title hopes to be over on Wednesday.
He also believes Klopp's successor – which could be Feyenoord's Arne Slot if reports are to be believed – may need to shake up Liverpool's frontline.
"Mo Salah is Liverpool's goalscorer and he's gone off the boil. That's shone a light on others," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"There is a real discussion for the new manager about what the future holds for Mo Salah – it's the first time we've asked that question. He only has a year to go on his deal.
"He's looked a shadow of himself for a lot of this season but especially since he's come back from injury. He is Liverpool's legend, superstar, one of the all-time greats, but he's been so far off it."
Salah has 17 Premier League goals this season, but 14 of those came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January.
Prior to that tournament, Salah boasted a shot conversion rate of 21.54 per cent for 2023-24, netting with 14 of his 65 total attempts in the competition. Since returning, he has only converted 8.57 per cent of his 35 efforts.
Salah's strike partner Nunez has also come in for criticism, with only Erling Haaland (30) missing more big chances than the Uruguayan's 26 this term. Haaland has, however, converted 34.78 per cent of his big chances to Nunez's 18.75 per cent.
Carragher does not believe Nunez is capable of further improvement after two up-and-down campaigns on Merseyside, saying: "I think I'm at the stage with Nunez where I'm not sure there's a question to ask.
"You want him to do well because he gives everything, he causes trouble, he gets the odd goal.
"But after two years, when Liverpool are going for the title or in big games, you need your man to score at Old Trafford or at Goodison Park. This is the business end, the time to win.
"He's ground to a halt. After two years there's going to be no improvement in him. This is what he is.
"He can cause trouble but he's erratic with his finishing – it's not enough to win you trophies so there's a big decision to be made on him. It's not acceptable when you're going for a title."
Van Dijk: Liverpool have 'no chance' in title race after derby defeat
Virgil van Dijk conceded Liverpool might be out of the Premier League title race after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half to give the Toffees their first win over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010.
Liverpool struggled to find a way through the Toffees' defence despite dominating for long periods, and the Reds' captain says they will not outlast Arsenal and Manchester City without major improvements.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "If we play like today, then we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.
"We have to just focus on the next game and that will be a tough one anyway, so we will see.
"We're very disappointed, in so many ways. I think everyone has to look at their own performances. Did they really give everything, and do they really want to win the league?
"We're still fighting and there are still games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the referee a chance to give free-kicks like he did many times, then you have no chance to win the title."
Dyche challenges Everton to 'go and do it again' after crucial derby victory
Sean Dyche challenged his Everton players to "go and do it again" after his team defeated Liverpool at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby.
Everton won 2-0 on Wednesday, clinching a home victory over their local rivals for the first time since 2010 thanks to goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
While it also dented Liverpool's title hopes, the victory presented a huge step forward in Everton's hopes of staying up.
They are now eight points clear of the relegation zone, with four games left to play, and the possibility of points to come back should they successfully appeal the second of their points deductions for financial breaches.
Dyche, though, insisted the job is not done as he looks towards another big game on Saturday, when Brentford visit Goodison Park.
"Very pleased with the reaction," Dyche told Sky Sports.
"This was a different game with the organisation and the belief in the organisation. They're a good side, we know that. The commitment from us had to be there. The energy of the side and also the key moments.
"We spoke about the desire and the energy of the team and the physical side of the game. The lads did it on Sunday and they'll have to do it again. That's the challenge.
"We stayed focused tonight and I asked if they could stay with us and they did. Sunday was massive and now it was a massively important derby game. For people like Seamus Coleman, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he's so happy.
"We should be on 41 points and the story's different. Three clean sheets in three home games. The challenge for the players is to go and do it again."
Calvert-Lewin led the line brilliantly, converting Everton's second with a towering header early in the second half. He has scored three goals in his last four Premier League games for the Toffees, as many as in his previous 28 appearances in the competition.
"I thought [Calvert-Lewin] was outstanding tonight," Dyche said.
"We've been trying to get him back to where he needs to be and I thought he was outstanding. He gets a goal. He tried to get it over the line and I love that. The second one is a great header. No, I thought he was outstanding tonight.
"Jordan Pickford made some big saves in the first half. It's rare you stop these sides having chances so you need moments yourself. It's hard to pick out one or two [players]."
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