Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that Jordan Pickford needs to ‘relax’ and ‘cool down’ prior to England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy.
During his appearance on talkSPORT Breakfast, the current Roma boss was asked if he would be a slightly concerned as the Three Lions manager about Pickford’s performance going into the final – to which he certainly didn’t hold back.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Mourinho.
“I think he [Pickford] was the only one who showed signs of not being on the top of his game, being nervous.
“That urgency of playing immediately, even when the ball was in his hands he was always in a hurry. I think the guy has to relax, he has to cool down.”
The Everton man conceded his and England’s first goal of the tournament against Denmark on Wednesday night as Mikkel Damsgaard thunderous free-kick put the Three Lions behind for the first time in their campaign.
The 27-year-old's performance wasn’t quite to the level he has demonstrated so far in Euro 2020. The ‘keeper handed possession to the opposition on two occasions and his usually reliable distribution was slightly off the mark.
Despite Gareth Southgate's side progressing to their first final in 55 years, Mourinho claimed that he 'saw Pickford's 'mistake' coming.'
Considering this, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ went on to suggest that Southgate, his coaching staff and England’s senior players should be trying to help the shot-stopper to be relaxed and composed ready for the Three Lions’ biggest game since the World Cup triumph in 1966.
“He didn’t make important mistakes in the competition, he and the team together have reached the final,” said Mourinho.
“I think between him and the other keepers, the goalkeeper coach and probably Gareth and the other experienced players, they’ve got to try and relax him.
“Because the most important thing with a goalkeeper is not to make impossible saves, it’s not to make the basic mistakes – what we call the silly mistakes.
“If on top of that you can be amazing and make incredible saves, great, but at least don’t make mistakes, don’t create instability in the team.
“I would say to him, try to relax, keep it simple, if you feel pressure don’t try to play from the back, it’s better to kick long and he’s so good by doing that, it gives the team more time to organise.
“Don’t put players under pressure, don’t try to create problems for your own team, don’t play difficult passes to players under pressure in a dangerous area of the pitch and try to relax a little bit.”
“Because, honestly, he was the player who could give us a little bit of a feeling of being a bit nervous.”
Whether or not Pickford is ‘relaxed’ or ‘cooled down’ certainly won’t matter if the Toffees man helps his country to European success, which, judging by the standard of his performances so far in the tournament, is certainly possible.
