Troy Deeney did not come to dance. The former Premier League striker sat down with CBS Sports after England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their World Cup opener and let it rip on Jordan Pickford. His take is simple and direct: England will not lift the trophy with Pickford between the sticks.
It is a bold claim about a guy who has 85 caps and has been England’s No. 1 since 2017. But Deeney is not impressed with what he saw on Wednesday night. And he is not leaning on stats to make his case. He is leaning on his eyes.
“To say the least, yeah,” Deeney said when asked if Pickford added to the chaos in England’s defense. “I don’t really know the stats and all of that. I’m just saying what my eyes told me.”
Pickford got a hand to Martin Baturina’s first-half goal for Croatia, but it still snuck in. That moment stuck with Deeney. “I still think he should have saved the first one, that’s my opinion. I think when you get a hand to it, it’s got to be a solid hand and keep it out.”
But the critique went beyond any single save. Deeney painted a broader picture of a keeper who creates more tension than he relieves. A guy who screams at teammates after routine plays and acts like nothing is his fault.
“There’s just that feeling when I watch Jordan. There’s a shot from 50 yards and it trickles to him and he’s screaming at everyone, ‘Do your job! Don’t let any shots come in!’ Every time he parries one, fouls someone, does whatever, he’s like, ‘Don’t look at me!’”
Then Deeney dropped his bottom line. “We’re trying to win a World Cup. That’s why we’re here. In my opinion, and respectfully Jordan, because you know I like you. We can’t win it with that guy in goal. He doesn’t give you any confidence.”
Not everyone agrees. Harry Maguire, on The Rest is Football, went the other way entirely. He pointed to Pickford’s composure under pressure and called him “really, really calm” in a game that got chaotic at times. Maguire also defended Thomas Tuchel’s tactical setup, pushing back on the idea that England would sit back and counter. He said the back four all want to build from the back and that the team pressed high, exactly what he expected.
England won 4-2 in the end. Jude Bellingham put them ahead early in the second half, and subs Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined to ice it late. But the shaky first half defensive performance — John Stones and Ezri Konsa both looked uneasy, and Reece James was off his usual level — left questions hanging. For Deeney, those questions start with the guy wearing the gloves.
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