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Nick Pope has set his sights on grabbing his ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to represent England during a home tournament but insisted Jordan Pickford ‘deserves’ to be Three Lions No1
Pope, the Burnley goalkeeper, is expected to be given the nod between the sticks for Thursday’s friendly clash vs the Republic of Ireland at Wembley – with full commentary of the match LIVE on talkSPORT
It will be a rare opportunity for the 28-year-old to stake his claim for the No1 spot – especially after manager Gareth Southgate said last week that Pickford currently did not have enough competition for the role
Pickford has only been left out of one competitive Three Lions fixture since the start of the 2018 World Cup – with Pope replacing the Everton man for a Euro 2020 qualifying win in Kosovo last November
“I think it’s fair to say he’s number one at the minute,” Pope said when asked about Pickford’s position
“If you look at the last 25, 30 fixtures, he’d have played probably 28 of them So, a person with that sort of record in the national team, I think, deserves to be called number one and has earned it
“So, I think it’s fair to say he’s number one at the minute, not to say that doesn’t change whenever the time may be
“For a goalkeeper, you’ve got to keep working and – like any player does – earn your right to be in the squad and fighting hard to make your way into the team”
Pope has not conceded a goal in any of his three appearances for England and, while he is pleased to continue his international shut-out, he believes he still needs to get better to bridge the gap to Pickford
“No goals is always a massive bonus for a goalkeeper and you can’t ask for much more – but I don’t think I’ve been overly tested in all the games either so I don’t think I’m walking round thinking I’m the best goalkeeper in the world”
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England national football team, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Everton FC, Burnley FC, Goalkeeper, Martyn Margetson
World news – IN – Pope says Pickford ‘deserves’ to be England No1 but hoping to seize chance for Euros
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