England interim boss Lee Carsley has explained why he chose to drop goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in favour of Dean Henderson for the Nations League encounter with Finland on Sunday. Pickford was England’s regular No. 1 under Gareth Southgate and has been his country’s starting goalkeeper at the last four major tournaments.
The Everton shot-stopper started Carsley’s first three games at the helm but produced a shaky performance against Greece on Thursday evening as the Three Lions suffered a shock 2-1 defeat.
However, Carsley has insisted it was always his intention to give Crystal Palace keeper Henderson a game over the international break.
“We are looking for a reaction, we fell below the levels we expect [against Greece], Carsley told ITV ahead of kick-off. “There was a case of getting a look at a few other players and we were always going to look at Dean Henderson in one of these games.”
Pickford made his England debut during a friendly against Germany in November 2017 and kept a clean sheet as the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
He has gone on to win 70 caps for his country but is under pressure to keep his place in the team, with the likes of Henderson, Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale all in the frame to take the No. 1 spot off him.
Pickford’s claims for the starting jersey haven’t been helped by Everton’s start to the season, with the Toffees conceding 15 goals in their opening seven Premier League matches.
And it remains to be seen whether Pickford returns to the starting line-up when England next take to the pitch against the Republic of Ireland next month.
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