Trafford presses Pickford for England place, but Robinson says first choice remains clear

James Trafford has emerged as Jordan Pickford’s main challenger for England’s goalkeeping spot, but former international Paul Robinson says Pickford remains the clear first choice as Thomas Tuchel weighs whether to rotate them again.

Tuchel gave Trafford two starts in the previous international break, against Spain and the Czech Republic, before Pickford returned for the win over the Czechs and the 7-0 victory in Croatia. England face Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and Spain in Madrid on Sunday. Tuchel has suggested he may again share the goalkeeping duties.

Robinson told BBC Sport that the selections were about building cover should Pickford be unavailable or lose form, rather than signalling an imminent change. “Jordan is England’s first choice, in my opinion, rightfully so,” he said, pointing to Pickford’s consistency and performances over a long period.

Pickford, 32, has 93 England appearances, including 80 in competitive matches and 33 at major tournaments. Opta figures cited by the BBC show he has made two errors leading to goals, kept 46 clean sheets and recorded a 74% save ratio.

Trafford, 24, has four England caps, two of them competitive. He moved to Leeds United from Manchester City in the summer in a deal that could reach £45m, but has played 42 Premier League games and one Champions League match. Robinson said the Leeds move could give him valuable experience and that he had the potential to become England’s future number one.

Robinson said Trafford was challenging Pickford if the Everton goalkeeper was playing poorly or making errors, but added that neither was currently the case. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Pickford has kept 27 league clean sheets, behind only Arsenal’s David Raya, on 39.

Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson is another possible contender, but is absent from Tuchel’s latest squad as he works back from injury. Robinson said Henderson could return to contention after playing more games. For now, he said, the conversation was between Pickford and Trafford—with Pickford still on top.