Troy Deeney Claims Jordon Pickford Will Cost at England World Cup

Hal picked up his MA in Sports Journalism and NCTJ qualification from St Mary's University Twickenham, Hal has since been part of Valnet since late 2021.

He started as a freelance football writer for This Is Futbol and carried that on over to FootballFanCast before becoming their social media editor. He now works as an editor for GiveMeSport, predominantly focusing on Premier League, Champions League, and English football.

He also helps GiveMeSport cover other major sports such as MMA, boxing, darts, tennis, and golf. Key events like the summer and winter Olympics are also highlights when they appear on the sporting calendar.

Hal is an Arsenal and Three Lions fan, but keeps an eye on the All Blacks, his favourite rugby team, having grown up in New Zealand. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account The first glimpses of England at the 2026 World Cup were pretty impressive. After all, the Three Lions put four goals past Croatia in their opening match of the tournament.

Up top, Harry Kane looks ready to carry his blistering Bayern Munich form onto the international stage as he scored two goals. Jude Bellingham stepped up with a fine solo effort, and even Noni Madueke looked bright on the wing, winning a penalty before being replaced by Bukayo Saka, who set up fellow substitute Marcus Rashford for England's fourth.

There will be some question marks over the defence, with Marc Guehi questionably dropped. He watched on as Thomas Tuchel's men conceded twice in the first half and looked a little shaky early on, before steadying the ship as the game went on.

Overall, though, it was a fine win, and most would be content with what they saw. Pundit Troy Deeney, however, believes one man could go on to cost England a shot at World Cup glory this summer.

Speaking after the game on CBS Sports, Deeney - who never won a cap for England at youth or senior level - expressed concerns over Jordan Pickford. He was asked if the goalkeeper was too chaotic, replying (via Metro):

"To say the least, yeah. I don’t really know the stats and all of that. I’m just saying what my eyes told me.

"I still think he should have saved the first one [Croatia goal], that’s my opinion. I think when you get a hand to it, it’s got to be a solid hand and keep it out.

"There’s just that feeling when I watch Jordan…there’s a shot from 50 yards and it trickles to him and he’s screaming at everyone, 'Do your job! Don’t let any shots come in!'

Every time he parries one, fouls someone, does whatever, he’s like, 'Don’t look at me!'”

Pickford has now played 85 times for the Three Lions, and his outing against Croatia was the third consecutive World Cup he has started as the nation's number one. In that time, he's also played in two European Championship finals with England.

Despite that wealth of experience, Deeney believes the Everton star doesn't have the quality to get Tuchel's men across the line this summer. He said:

"We’re trying to win a World Cup. That’s why we’re here. In my opinion, and respectfully Jordan, because you know I like you. We can’t win it with that guy in goal. He doesn’t give you any confidence."

It seems odd for Deeney to suggest Pickford doesn't give his defenders any confidence when he's been the country's number one for so long now, taking the job under Gareth Southgate and retaining his spot under Tuchel. What's more, the goalkeeper went an English record of 10 matches without conceding a goal across games in 2024 and 2025, so it seems unlikely that he'll be dropped any time soon.