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Former England goalkeeper Ben Foster believes Jordan Pickford should ‘hold his hands up’ and take the blame for France’s opening goal in their World Cup quarter-final match.
Les Bleus secured their spot in the semi-finals in Qatar with a 2-1 win, with young midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni opening the scoring in the 17th minute from long range.
Harry Kane levelled from the spot early in the second half, but Olivier Giroud’s 78th-minute header clinched a place in the last four, with England leaving the tournament.
Didier Deschamps’ side now face Morocco in the semi-finals, with Gareth Southgate and his men having left Qatar.
The England boss has a contract to stay on with the national team until December 2024, but has yet to make a decision on his future.
Pickford ‘a little bit slow’ for France opener
Kane also missed a late penalty to level the scores once more, with much of the post-match talk focusing on the miss, with many feeling confident that the striker would find the back of the net again.
But former England goalkeeper Foster has focused on Pickford’s role in France’s opener, and thinks his fellow shot-stopper should have done better when dealing with the strike.
The ex-Manchester United, West Brom and Watford goalkeeper says most Premier League number ones would have made the save, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“It was about 25 or 26 yards out, Bellingham’s about 25 yards from the goal and it’s gone through his legs,” said Foster. “That has not put Jordan Pickford off whatsoever, right?
“What I think has happened is that he’s just got a little bit slow at moving his feet. I don’t think he’s underestimated that the ball is going to be curling that quickly, but as a goalkeeper at that level – again, at that level – you have to almost overcompensate for that.
“You almost have to dive past the ball, do you know what I mean? I think most Premier League goalies make that save, I really do. I think most Premier League goalies make that save, full stop.”
Pickford ‘will hold his hands up’ and admit error
Pickford enjoyed another strong showing for England between the sticks in Qatar. He kept three clean sheets from his five matches in the tournament, against the USA, Wales and Senegal.
The goalkeeper, who was handed the number one jersey for England ahead of Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope, conceded just four goals; two against Iran and two against France.
But Foster, who made eight appearances for England between 2007 and 2014, believes the Everton goalkeeper will be disappointed with France’s opener.
Foster noted that Tchouameni’s goal was by no means the sweetest of strikes, despite many arguing that the shot was indeed well hit.
Commenting on whether Tchouameni’s strike was perfect, Foster said: “I don’t think it was! I don’t think it was rifled, and I don’t think it was right in the corner.
“I think if you show Jordan Pickford a look back at the goal, he’ll hold his hands up and say ‘I think I can do better for that!’”
Jordan Pickford asked the camera operators to back away from Harry Kane. pic.twitter.com/EjohPkSfRN
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 10, 2022
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