EURO 2020: Jordan Pickford WILL keep kicking long against Scotland

Jordan Pickford WILL keep kicking long against Scotland despite having a frank exchange of views with team-mate John Stones during Croatia win

  • England keeper Jordan Pickford has vowed to improve the quality of his kicking
  • Team-mate John Stones questioned why he wouldn’t play short against Croatia
  • Pickford accepted some of his distribution was not as good as should have been 
  • The keeper knows that it must be better when England face Scotland on Friday 
  • However, he also says that he will not be deterred from sending the ball long 


Jordan Pickford has vowed to improve the quality of his kicking but will not be deterred from sending the ball long.

England’s goalkeeper ended up having a frank exchange of views with team-mate John Stones during the 1-0 defeat of Croatia, as the Manchester City defender became exasperated and wanted to know why Pickford wouldn’t play short.

Pickford accepted some of his distribution was not as good as should it be — there were a couple of moments in the last 10 minutes when he hammered the ball straight out of play to invoke Stones’ wrath — and knows it needs to be better against Scotland.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (above) has vowed to improve the quality of his kicking

But, echoing the message Gareth Southgate delivered immediately after the Group D opener — the manager declared that England shouldn’t be ‘football snobs’ — Pickford stressed he will not think twice about going direct if he believes the option is on.

‘Hopefully I will be a bit more accurate in the next game,’ said the 27-year-old Everton keeper. ‘We do a lot of work and it’s about me being able to have that vision, see passes and execute.

‘Against Croatia, a few too many weren’t well-placed enough for my standard, so I’ll do extra work to be ready for Scotland.

Team-mate John Stones (right) questioned why he wouldn't play short against Croatia

Team-mate John Stones (right) questioned why he wouldn’t play short against Croatia

Pickford accepted some of his distribution was not as good as should have been on Sunday

Pickford accepted some of his distribution was not as good as should have been on Sunday

‘I always say, ‘Make the right decision’. Whatever decision I make, as long as it’s the right one, whether it’s a short pass to the centre half or a clip into the full back, or if it’s in the next line or into Harry Kane up top, it’s just making sure I make the right one and it’s executed to perfection.

‘You have a bit of game sense and a bit of knowledge of target areas but it’s down to my decision and making sure I make the right one.’

Expanding on the reason he sought to bypass Stones at times, Pickford added: ‘From the goal-kick, while the goalkeeper is in charge, I like to see the full picture. Sometimes it just felt like Croatia were waiting to press us at certain times and I felt like the better decision was to go longer.’