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Nick Pope has kept 35 clean sheets in the Premier League for Burnley since arriving from Charlton in 2016
England manager Gareth Southgate has chosen Nick Pope as their starting goalkeeper for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Poland.
The Burnley player, who started Thursday’s 5-0 win over San Marino, appears to be the first choice behind the injured Jordan Pickford.
The other goalkeepers on the team are Dean Henderson of Manchester United and Sam Johnstone of Sheffield United.
“He has consistently played at a high level for his club,” Southgate said.
“He is a very calm character and I really like his personality.
“We obviously knew he wasn’t going to be overworked. [against San Marino]but I’m sure it will be different in the next games. “
The 28-year-old Pope, a member of the 2018 World Cup team, has only played five games for his country. He could become the first England goalkeeper to not concede goals in his first six appearances when he takes on Albania on Sunday.
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England better than the 2018 national team – Maguire
Harry Maguire was also a member of that team that reached the semifinals. He believes England have improved as a collective since then.
“I think in the three years that we have developed, we have worked more tactically, the experience of the big tournament, the ups and downs,” said the 28-year-old on the eve of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
“We have to bring that experience to the next tournaments. I’m sure that will help us. Of course, as a player and as a team, three years is a long time to develop and we have developed positively.”
The center-back did not play in Thursday’s victory that put England on pole position in Group I. Sunday’s rivals also have three points, though they only beat minnows Andorra by a single goal in their first qualifying round.
James Ward-Prowse scored his first goal for England last week and was involved in an inexperienced midfield, with Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson injured and in doubt for this summer’s Euro Cup.
Southgate said he was happy with the remaining midfielders at his disposal, including Chelsea’s Mason Mount and West Ham’s Declan Rice, who have been friends since childhood.
“They did very well in the game we played against Iceland,” Southgate said.
“Obviously, in that deeper position, Mason doesn’t play for his club, but I think it’s possible for him. He’s a very smart player, he can play four, eight or 10. I think he could adapt as needed.
“There is no doubt that the balance of those two is good. But Ward-Prowse was also good. [against San Marino] the other day and Kalvin Phillips is in great shape too.
“It’s an area of the field where we are starting to have some options.”
Match facts
- England have won all four of their previous matches against Albania, with all matches in the World Cup qualifiers for the 1990 and 2002 tournaments. On the day of this match, it will be exactly 20 years since England last played in Albania. , winning 3-1 in Tirana in March 2001 with goals from Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and Andrew Cole. Albania have won their last four international matches, their best streak since August 2010, but have never won five consecutive matches. England have lost only two of their last games. 29 away games in World Cup qualifying campaigns (19 wins, 8 draws), losing to Northern Ireland in September 2005 and Ukraine in October 2009. England have scored 42 goals in their last nine matches for qualifying for major tournaments (eight wins and six losses of those games with Gareth Southgate. The only Three Lions manager who saw England score five or more goals in the same number of qualifiers was Sir Bobby Robson, also with six. Albania is looking to start his World Cup qualifying campaign with two consecutive wins for the second time, also in his last campaign before the 2018 World Cup. He defeated Andorra 1-0 in his first match of this campaign. England’s Harry Kane has scored in each of his last seven away qualifying matches for the Euro / World Cup, the longest career by a player from England. Kane has scored in 16 different stadiums as he plays dor of England, this being the first match of the Three Lions at the Kombetare Arena. Only Tom Finney (17), Michael Owen (25) and Wayne Rooney (27) have scored a goal in more different stadiums for England than Kane.
Source: bbc.com
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