27-year-old Pickford has yet to concede at the tournament and has kept a clean sheet in each of his five appearances. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was his closest contender but conceded against Spain, meaning he can only achieve four shutouts even if he features in Sunday’s final.
Pickford, who had a disappointing season with Everton in 2020-21, particularly in the opening half, has played every minute. Pickford’s credentials for England’s number one jersey have been questioned due to his issues with his club, with Burnley’s Nick Pope, who underwent surgery and missed out on Gareth Southgate’s squad, and Manchester United’s Dean Henderson being suggested as alternatives.
Earlier, after England’s 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine on Saturday night, Jordan Pickford became the first goalkeeper to maintain five clean sheets in the first five games of a European Championships. While England’s attacking has been effective, the Three Lions’ defensive tenacity has kept them in the game, with Saturday’s win marking their seventh consecutive clean sheet. It’s the first time England has gone this long without conceding a goal, with a stretch of 662 minutes. Five of those clean sheets came at Euro 2020; no team has ever started a Euros campaign with five consecutive clean sheets.
On Wednesday, England will meet Denmark in the second semi-final and Jordan Pickford will be the biggest challenge for Denmark’s teams to face.