Alan Shearer said Jordan Pickford has not looked like his normal self at the World Cup, and he tied that dip to the way Thomas Tuchel has kept changing England's back four. The criticism came after England's late comeback win over Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, when Brian Cipenga scored early and Harry Kane pulled England through.
Shearer said the goalkeeper would usually expect to keep out Cipenga's goal, which beat Pickford at his near post, and he argued that the defending in front of him has not settled. He told Betfair that the back four looks shaky and said Pickford's kicking has not been as good as it normally is, leaving England with more questions than comfort despite the win.
The timing matters because England are now into the last 16 and are due to play Mexico on Monday morning. Pickford, 32, has 87 international caps and has taken England to the finals of the Euros twice, so scrutiny on his form carries real weight. He is not being judged like a newcomer; he is being judged like a goalkeeper whose standards have already been set high enough to make a wobble stand out.
The harder point for Tuchel is that Shearer did not pin everything on Pickford. He suggested the chopping and changing in front of him may have helped create the problem, and that is where England's defensive issue becomes more awkward. If the back four keeps shifting, the team may keep asking its goalkeeper to work behind a line that never fully settles, even after a late escape against a side that exposed the frailty on Wednesday.
That leaves Tuchel with a simple decision and a difficult one: keep experimenting, or leave the defence alone long enough for Pickford and the rest to look secure again. The answer will be tested quickly, because Mexico arrive next and England do not have much time to make the back four feel fixed rather than fragile.
