‘Courtois and Neuer’ – Pickford on the best goalkeepers at the World Cup

Jordan Pickford gave praise to Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer as the goalkeepers he looks up to at the World Cup.

The Everton goalkeeper, who started the opener against Iran, has kept three clean sheets in 14 Premier League games leading into the tournament.

Asked about the keepers he admires, he replied: “Thibaut Courtois – he had an unbelievable season at Real Madrid last year and Manuel Neuer, he’s been around for a long time. There is a lot of talent at the tournament.”

The Three Lions beat Iran convincingly 6-2, with Pickford pulling off a remarkable one-handed save in the second half.

On the save, he added: “The practice that we’ve put in all week helps me making saves like the finger-tip one against Iran. I was waiting and waiting and I got a nice top hand on it. The resulting penalty came from a throw-in on that side, which was disappointing, but I was happy with the save.

“We were 4-0 up and conceded an easy goal and then the penalty was indifferent. I am never going to be happy conceding a goal, but we’ll build towards USA and hopefully get a clean sheet.”