Michael Owen has hailed England’s goalkeepers and said Everton stopper Jordan Pickford is ‘very reliable’ for his country.
Owen was speaking after England’s 0-0 draw with Italy at Molineux where Aaron Ramsdale won just his second cap. In an otherwise uneventful affair, the Arsenal goalkeeper was solid and made a fantastic save with his feet from Sandro Tonali. It was a rare game off for Pickford, who has won 45 caps for England since his debut in 2017.
In that time, despite often receiving criticism, he has kept 21 clean sheets and conceded just 34 goals. The Everton No.1 was crucial in England’s run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the delayed European Championship final last summer.
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Along with Pickford and Ramsdale, England also have Nick Pope and Sam Johnstone as keepers who have featured over the past year. And after Ramsdale’s performance against Italy, Owen believes England’s goalkeeping department is in a good place. “‘He [Ramsdale] was brilliant,” the ex-Liverpool striker told Channel 4 after the game.
“I think a lot of people look at our goalkeeping situation and are a little bit concerned about it. However, whenever Jordan Pickford plays, I know he made a mistake against Germany (on Tuesday), but over the last few years, he has been very reliable.
“But then Ramsdale has come in and hasn’t conceded a goal for England. He made some good saves, it wasn’t like he did not have anything to do today. As much as people worry about the situation, we have two goalkeepers there that have done particularly well when called upon.”
