Jordan Pickford ended a Sport video short by naming Manuel Neuer as the goalkeeper he would take after working through a line of the game’s greats, a small verdict that lands differently with a World Cup on the horizon. The Everton and England keeper is preparing for his third World Cup as England’s number one, and his choices offer a rare look at the keepers who influenced him long before he became one himself.
The 32-year-old first leaned toward Gianluigi Buffon when asked to pick between elite names, saying he would choose Buffon over Petr Cech, David Seaman and Edwin van der Sar before joking, “Buffon, I’ll pick myself when we win the World Cup!” He then switched to Iker Casillas, praising Spain’s run of trophies and adding, “We’ll go Casillas to change it up.”
Pickford’s path through the comparisons then turned to Peter Schmeichel, and that was where the memory became more personal. He said his first ever pair of gloves had Schmeichel on them and that he watched the former Manchester United keeper on Champions League nights while growing up. From there he chose Schmeichel over David de Gea, before moving on to Neuer, the name he finally settled on at the end.
That sequence matters because it shows how Pickford has spent his career measuring himself against the best while never fully hiding the confidence that drives him. He has earned 82 caps, played in every England match at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, and he is now heading toward another World Cup with the same job description: keep England steady when the pressure rises. Earlier this season he also said England must end 60 years of hurt, a line that still hangs over every tournament conversation around the team.
There is one more layer to the story. Pickford’s old PE teacher at St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington said he played him in midfield at school, a reminder that the England goalkeeper was once a player his coaches were willing to move out of the nets. That detail fits the version of Pickford seen in the video: comfortable with the biggest names, willing to pick against himself, and still sure enough to say he would choose himself only when England finally lift the World Cup.
For now, the next milestone is simple. Pickford keeps building toward his third World Cup, and the video leaves no doubt about the standard he is chasing: Buffon first, Schmeichel in the middle, Neuer at the end.
