Jordan Pickford: Why Everton goalkeeper is England’s undisputed number one

Jordan Pickford has broken Gordon Banks’ record with his eighth consecutive clean sheet for England – taking him past a year without conceding a goal for his country.

The 31-year-old Everton goalkeeper marked his 79th cap by surpassing World Cup winner Banks’ mark in Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales.

Friday marks a year since he last conceded for England, in a 2-1 Nations League defeat by Greece.

Since then he has faced nine shots on target, keeping out Serbia, Andorra (twice), Latvia, Albania, the Republic of Ireland, Greece and Wales.

In the past year England conceded in both games he was an unused substitute – against Finland and Senegal.

Thomas Tuchel had previously said “the race is on” to be England’s number one, but is Pickford’s place really under any serious threat – and just how good is he?

Tuchel has yet to see Pickford concede a goal since taking over as England boss at the start of 2025.

“Well done, congratulations. Fantastic achievement,” said the German.

“He’s a fantastic shot stopper. There is no doubt about it.

“There was a challenge for him because they pressed us high. We want to have the chance to escape the pressing with short passes, and not only with long shots from him. So, he did very well.

“He kept his composure. He kept calm. This is basically what we demand of him.”

While most of those recent shutouts have come in one-sided World Cup qualifiers, we already know Pickford’s worth in big games and penalty shootouts at major tournaments too.

With the help of former England goalkeepers Paul Robinson and Rob Green, and his old Toffees team-mates Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott, BBC Sport explores every aspect of Pickford’s game and examines his importance to his country now.