It proved to be another successful night for England on Tuesday as they secured a 1-0 victory over Czech Republic to finish as Group D winners.
It was Raheem Sterling who scored the all-important winning goal inside 12 minutes, however, the performance of Jordan Pickford at the other end of the pitch proved equally significant.
From a shot-stopping perspective, the 27-year-old was only tested twice, with one of those efforts being a routine save in the second half from Vladimir Darida.
Yet he illustrated superb athleticism to palm a well-struck shot from Tomas Holes around the post just before the 30-minute mark to help preserve England’s slender lead.
The result meant that Pickford secured his third clean sheet in as many matches at the tournament, making him just the second England keeper, and first since Gordon Banks in 1966, to keep three clean sheets in the group stage of a major tournament.
Obviously, clean sheets can often be down to a great team display, just as much as a keeper's performance alone, yet the way in which Pickford has performed both leading up to the tournament with Everton, and within the showpiece event itself so far does warrant individual praise.
It’s not just his ability to keep the ball out of the England goal which has impressed though, but also his standout distribution in possession.
His short passing has been almost faultless, with 49/50 attempted passes finding their intended target across the tournament so far. However, it’s his long-range passing that’s arguably been his most impressive asset for England.
At various points in Tuesday's clash, England were faced with an aggressive press deep inside their own half. Whilst Gareth Southgate’s defenders attempted to play through the same, it wasn’t always possible, and in those moments when passing options were limited, Pickford’s pinpoint passing meant that he could fire the ball over pressing Czech attackers and into the feet of key England attackers higher up the pitch.
Even when the Czech’s tried to hold their position and cut out passing lanes through the middle, the Everton No.1 was still able to find dangerous England players in valuable locations inside their opponents half.
Pickford’s passing has always been one of his best assets, and when he was struggling for form early on in the last campaign, it was the crucial edge he had over his England rivals that helped him maintain the No.1 spot in the eyes of Southgate.
Now though, he’s combining his impressive passing with elite level goalkeeping, making him arguably one of the most in-form keepers across the whole tournament.
