Jordan Pickford has 61 senior caps for England (Picture: Getty)
Didi Hamann believes England will not win Euro 2024 if Gareth Southgate persists with his first-choice keeper Jordan Pickford in goal.
Pickford was handed his England debut in November 2017 and has gone on to become one of the key players during Southgate’s tenure.
The Everton keeper has been England’s No.1 in each of the last three major tournaments and looks set to continue in that role heading into the upcoming Euros in Germany.
The 30-year-old enters the tournament off the back of a superb Premier League campaign for Everton which saw Pickford pick up 13 clean sheets, a figure only bettered by Arsenal’s David Raya.
However, former Liverpool midfielder and German international Hamann has questioned Pickford’s temperament and fears that could cost England as the tournament hots up.
‘My worry would be Pickford. He’s a good keeper, but I think his temperament lets him down at times,’ Hamann said speaking on the ‘In The Zone’ podcast.
‘In a tournament when you might play seven games, there will be setbacks – you need a keeper who calms his teammates down.
Aaron Ramsdale is currently England’s second-choice option (Picture: Getty)
‘I think Pickford does the opposite and this is where I’ve got my worries and question marks. I don’t think England win a big title with Pickford.’
Should Southgate choose not to start Pickford his other options would be Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson.
Ramsdale appears to be Southgate’s second choice having started England’s final warm-up game against Iceland last week.
The 26-year-old, however, started just ten games in all competitions last season after he was usurped in the pecking order by Raya and was partially to blame for Iceland’s winning goal at Wembley.
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit, meanwhile, labelled Ramsdale’s campaign at the Emirates last season as ‘embarrassing’ and suggested he should not even be in Southgate’s 26-man squad for the tournament.
England get their tournament underway on Sunday with a clash against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
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