Jordan Pickford: Pub brawl incident was a wake up call for me

England keeper Jordan Pickford believes he is maturing on and off the pitch
England keeper Jordan Pickford believes he is maturing on and off the pitch Credit: PA

England’s penalty hero Jordan Pickford has revealed that the pub brawl he was caught up in taught the goalkeeper he could no longer be a “normal lad.”

Pickford was filmed swinging punches in a pub row in his native Sunderland at the start of April after verbal abuse was allegedly directed at the Everton star’s fiancee Megan Davison.

But, following a dip in form, the 25-year-old responded by finishing the season strongly and once again became England’s penalty shootout hero against Switzerland in the third place Nations League play-off.

Pickford scored a penalty in the shootout and saved from Josip Drmic to secure bronze medals and third place in the tournament for himself and his England team-mates.

Asked what he learned from the pub fight and resulting fall-out, Pickford said: “I think the main thing about it is that I am a normal lad – but then sometimes you have got to realise you are not a normal lad, you are an England footballer.

Pickford saved the decisive penalty from Josip Drmic in the Nations League shootout
Pickford saved the decisive penalty from Josip Drmic in the Nations League shootout Credit: Rex

“I just want to be a normal lad, but you have got to realise certain things. You learn from it like you learn from everything. So you move on from that and after that incident I pushed on at the end of the season and kept a lot of clean sheets. It just shows my character.”

Pickford admitted that the incident, together with the birth of his baby son, has stopped him going out.

“I've got a little baby now and life has changed so with the little baby and my missus, it is a totally different lifestyle now and it is great,” said Pickford. “It was just one of them things, I don't think there is much more to say. You learn from everything, how to become a man and grow.”

As well as maturing off the pitch, Pickford believes he has grown up on it and enjoys the pressure of being England’s first-choice goalkeeper.

That followed a similar crucial intervention against Colombia at last summer's World Cup
That followed a similar crucial intervention against Colombia at last summer's World Cup Credit: Reuters

“I think you always learn and always mature in every game, whether it is club or international level,” said Pickford. “For me, I've always been decent, I made my debut against Germany, 23 year-old playing in goal for England. What a moment and I kept a clean sheet.

“I think I started on the front foot and there has been a lot of pressure, but I don't feel it. I just want to go and express myself and do the best for the nation and for the team. If that is keeping clean sheets and keeping them well, I don't feel any pressure, I just feel I can get better and better.”

The success in Portugal was England’s second successive tournament shootout victory, following the World Cup win against Colombia last summer in which Pickford made a crucial save.

“There is a big process that goes into the penalties,” said Pickford. “You need that extra edge going into a penalty shoot-out, everyone thinks it is luck but you can do a lot of research with the analysis staff, who record every penalty we take and do hours and hours on end when we are not here. I think mine was a half-decent penalty.”

Pickford and his England team-mates do not play again until September, when they face a European Championship qualifying double-header against Bulgaria and Kosovo.

With much of Euro 2020 being played on home soil, Pickford believes England can use their Nations League experience, together with their run to the semi-finals of the World Cup, to go a step further next summer.

“These two games will help massively for starters,” he said. “I think these two games will teach us a lot more than two qualifying games for the Euros, so it is a great stepping stone.

“The Holland defeat, that just makes us hungrier for success. We have had two semi-finals and we want to put the defeats behind us and reach the final.”

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