Emmanuel Petit talks about the one player whose mistake might have cost England the World Cup.
France legend Emmanuel Petit thinks England has a real chance to win the World Cup but feels one player might hold them back.
The Three Lions kicked off their World Cup journey with a 4-2 win over Croatia in Texas on Wednesday. Harry Kane scored twice in the first half, and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford, who came off the bench, added more goals in the second half.
This win puts Thomas Tuchel’s team at the top of Group L, tied on points with Ghana but ahead on goal difference. England will play Ghana next on Tuesday night.
Thanks to a new FIFA rule, group rankings are now decided by head-to-head results instead of goal difference. So, if England beats Ghana and Croatia doesn’t beat Panama, England will top the group early—letting some key players rest after a tough club season.
Petit, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, believes England could be tournament favorites but isn’t fully convinced by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after the first match.
He said, “I wasn’t really impressed by Pickford. I think he could have done better on the first goal. He made some saves, but I don’t really feel confident with him.”
Croatia’s equalizer came when Martin Baturina scored with a long-range shot that Pickford could only just touch.
Petit added, “If you want to go all the way, you need one of the best goalkeepers in the competition. That’s my opinion. You might disagree, but I’m not sure about him, especially when he’s on the line during free kicks or corners. It feels like something could go wrong.”
Others agree. Ex-Watford striker Troy Deeney openly said Tuchel can’t win the World Cup with Pickford in goal. He told CBS Sports, “We want to win a World Cup, and with all respect to Jordan because I like him, I don’t think we can do it with him in goal. He doesn’t give confidence.”
Pickford earned his 85th cap against Croatia and has kept 44 clean sheets for England so far. Former England goalie Joe Hart suggested Pickford might be struggling with this summer’s new ball, the Trianda, which seems to move faster than expected on long shots.
Hart said, “This ball is coming at the goalkeepers faster than they think. Pickford’s reaction on that goal wasn’t right. It reminded me of the 2010 World Cup ball, the Jabulani, which was tricky and caused lots of strange goals.”
Despite the doubts, Pickford is almost certain to start against Ghana. Backup goalkeepers James Trafford and Dean Henderson are ready if Tuchel wants to make a change later in the tournament.