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For any player, reaching 50 international caps is a significant milestone. To do it in a World Cup quarter-final against the defending champions only adds another layer to this achievement.
But for England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the evening of his Three Lions half-century would turn out to be one of the most crushing of his career.
That’s because his 50th appearance came against France at the 2022 World Cup, a game where Gareth Southgate’s dreams of finally getting over the line in a major tournament were again dashed.
Pickford on his 50th cap
England suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat in Qatar that day, with Harry Kane’s late penalty miss coming at the end of a match in which the Three Lions had put in an impressive performance and gone toe-to-toe with the world champions.
“It was,” Pickford admits to FourFourTwo when asked if that landmark appearance was a bittersweet occasion.
“We had some big chances to win that game, but it came down to small moments that didn’t go our way.”
The defeat came as England’s route to the final was opening up, but Kane’s penalty miss, which came six minutes from time and shortly after Olivier Giroud’s go-ahead goal, sealed another devastating Three Lions exit.
Pickford believes that France’s experience from winning the tournament four years earlier in Russia, was one of the fine margins that settled the clash.
“France were reigning champions and probably knew how to succeed in those moments, and we just have to learn from them.”
As Pickford gets ready for his third World Cup with England, the 32-year-old is one of the squad’s most experienced players and will use these lessons to fuel the team’s campaign this summer.
“We want to be the best, so we have to turn negative moments into improvements,” he insists. “To be the best at anything these days, whatever sport or industry it is, you have to master the fine margins.
“It’s up to the staff to help us make sure we get every little tactical detail right, and it’s up to us to execute that gameplan.
“We have to be mentally prepared for anything that comes our way in 90-plus minutes – something we’re learning to do better.”
