Fans of international football have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for his performance v Bulgaria on Saturday evening.
The stopper didn’t have a great deal to do, but was on hand to make a vital save from close range with the score still at 1-0.
The Three Lions went on to win 4-0, courtesy of a brace from a Harry Kane and a strike from Raheem Sterling.
But it was Pickford who drew a lot of praise from spectators.
The Toffees’ stopper had little to do prior to his save from Wanderson in the 48th minute, but they say the mark of a good goalkeeper is to keep their concentration and make a big save after having relatively little to do all game, and that is exactly what Pickford did at Wembley on Saturday.
Here are some of the best tweets from those watching the match.
Wow Pickford
— Nel.?? (@Nelskim_) September 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/wilkik2/status/1170382470417698817?s=20
https://twitter.com/narrysweetheart/status/1170382236543266816?s=20
To be fair, this maybe wasn’t the greatest save of the 25-year-old’s career.
Wanderson struck it with some venom, but it was a nice height for Pickford, and ultimately pretty much straight at him.
What made it such a good save was the timing of it in relation to the rest of the match.
Had England conceded then, just after half time and with Bulgaria intent on sitting in and frustrating Gareth Southgate’s men as much as possible, things could have gotten very sticky for England.
As it happened instead, Pickford made his save and 35 seconds later, the Three Lions went up the other end and won a penalty that Harry Kane dispatched to make 2-0.
Love Pickford me
— Will (@whndma) September 7, 2019
Well done Pickford you made that goal ????
— Mark Barnes (@mickeyb6) September 7, 2019
At this stage, there can be little doubt that Pickford is England’s undisputed number one.
Jack Butland has fallen away considerably in recent times, Joe Hart is finished at this level, and Tom Heaton is superb but ageing.
That leaves Pickford and Nick Pope, and while the Burnley stopper is a fantastic option, you would be hard pushed to find many English fans who would put him in the starting 11 ahead of his Everton counterpart.
On Saturday, Pickford showed once again why that is.
pickford wid a big save
— Mel (@Romel7826) September 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/alexlacaztte/status/1170389113821904896?s=20