JORDAN PICKFORD has clung on to England’s No.1 jersey without breaking sweat for seven years.
But manager Thomas Tuchel — who officially took over on New Year’s Day — warned that reputations are out the window in the build-up to next year’s World Cup.
And that put 75-cap star Pickford, 31, on notice that he now faces a battle to keep his spot.
That is despite claiming the Everton ace is back to his best after the return of boss David Moyes to the Toffees.
Dean Henderson, fresh from helping Crystal Palace to their historic FA Cup win last month, has just two England caps but will now provide some stiff competition over the next 12 months.
There are high hopes for Burnley youngster James Trafford, who has also spent the week at the Three Lions’ training camp in Girona.
Southampton veteran Aaron Ramsdale — although not selected for this squad — is liked by Tuchel.
But the 27-year-old needs to find a top-flight club in England or elsewhere following Saints’ relegation.
At Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium on Saturday, the player in goal for Tuchel will be able to enjoy the sun without having to break sweat.
But the German is expecting some fierce competition between the sticks, which was not the case under former manager Gareth Southgate.
Tuchel said: “It will always be a fight for every position and there is no exception for the goalkeepers.
“At the moment, Jordan is in a good place mentally and performance-wise.
“It helped him to stabilise himself at Everton with the change of manager with David Moyes.
“He became very, very stable and also emotionally stable and we’re very happy with that.
“Jordan has been in goal for a long, long time and he earned his place with consistent performances at a high level in international football.
“All three of our goalkeepers are not involved in European football. They’re not used to European football, which would be ideal. It’s not a problem, though.
“Jordan behaves and trains at the highest level and we’re very, very happy with him.
“He’s doing everything at the moment to keep his place because he feels Dean stepped up and found another level, another gear.
Alternative goalkeeper options
“Dean got a big title with his club and was a key figure in the campaign, so that helped his confidence a lot.”
And then there is 22-year-old Trafford, who kept 29 clean sheets in 45 matches as Burnley won promotion back to the Premier League.
Tuchel added: “James had a long, long break after his fantastic season with Burnley.
“He hasn’t been on the pitch for four weeks, he finished the season the earliest. That’s a little bit of a disadvantage for him, it’s not his fault but he is pushing strongly.
“That’s what we expect from him and he is at the moment a competitor for Dean Henderson and Jordan Pickford.
“Hopefully, he can prove himself next season and then the race is on.”
Fitness challenges
It is not ideal that England, who won their opening World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia in March, are in such a weak group.
Andorra will be no trouble but the qualifier away to Serbia in September is a decent test, while there is also a Wembley friendly with Wales the following month.
This week has seen Tuchel test his players on how they deal with the heat as the conditions will be baking-hot at the World Cup next year in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
And he is trying to work out how his players can be at peak fitness, because he admits the squad were in their best shape during the mid-season 2022 World Cup.
Tuchel said: “The majority of our players play in the toughest league in the world and they are used to a kind of rhythm that is very unique.
“The tournaments are normally played after a long season and it is not maybe an advantage for us but it is just a fact. It is maybe not a coincidence players felt the most comfortable in the Qatar World Cup.
“Suddenly, the demands of the Premier League became an advantage because they were in the middle of it and felt they had an advantage over other players.
“It can be that at some point we need to adjust our style of play when it comes to tournament football and when it comes to knockout football.
“Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to win in style. Can you really play the same game in 40C heat and humidity that you play in 20C in an evening match?
“So, these are some questions I don’t have all the answers to and I don’t have to right now, because we still have one year to go but we are on it to answer them.”
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