Jordan Pickford: England Ready to Go to War for Thomas Tuchel

Jordan Pickford says England are ready to “go to war” for Thomas Tuchel. It is not a throwaway line. Not on the eve of a knockout tie that will help define this new era.

England, fresh from topping Group L after a controlled 2-0 win over Panama in New Jersey, step into the World Cup last 32 with DR Congo in their path and 1966 still looming over every campaign. Same pressure, new face in the dugout. And, if Pickford is any guide, a sharpened edge in the dressing room.

The Everton goalkeeper has lived all of this before. Two European Championship finals under Sir Gareth Southgate, two agonising near-misses, and an unshakable belief that this group has always had the talent to go the distance. Asked what feels different this time, he does not talk about tactics first or personnel. He talks about conviction.

“Belief, togetherness,” he told BBC Sport, before pointing straight to Tuchel’s influence. “I think we have had that previously, but I think the manager’s got that belief in us.”

This is where Tuchel’s imprint shows. Not in a chalkboard lecture, but in the way players walk out of the meeting room.

“The meetings the manager has with us, it is like you are ready to go to war,” Pickford said. “He puts that belief in you. There is different meetings he has tactically, and it is like ‘yeah, it is go time’.”

You can hear the change in tone. Less cautious, more combative. The goalkeeper talks about a squad picked at the crest of their careers, a group that feels aligned behind one aim.

“We all want the same goal, we all want that end goal and this squad he has picked, we are all in good spirits and all in good moments in our career.”

Pickford’s own preparation goes beyond the training pitch. He continues to work closely with a psychologist, a long-term process he leans on to keep his focus razor sharp when the margins narrow and the noise grows.

Speaking to ITV Sport, he framed it as an ongoing project rather than a quick fix. “(It is) a lot of growth I am working on and being the best version of myself. We have got targets, who I am working with, and it is about being the best version of me and where that can take me. We know the journey it can take me on, and believing in that, and being me.”

The journey now runs straight through DR Congo, who arrive in the last 32 as one of the best third-placed teams after their win over Uzbekistan on Saturday. On paper, England are favourites. On the pitch, Tuchel’s side know this is exactly the kind of tie that can turn edgy if complacency creeps in or if chances go begging.

Pickford’s reputation from the spot hangs over any knockout game. His penalty saves have already written their own chapter in England’s modern tournament story, and the prospect of extra-time and a shootout will not frighten him. Still, he is clear about the plan.

“We want to win the game in 90 minutes, but we will ready as a team, as a group, as England to do what it takes to get the victory,” he told ITV.

That readiness stretches beyond the starting XI. Tuchel has built a bench full of game-changers, and Pickford knows they may yet be decisive.

“If it goes to penalties, extra-time, we have got the ability, we have got the lads to come off the bench, our togetherness is a high level and that is what we are here to do.”

There is no dismissal of DR Congo, no sense this will be routine. Pickford namechecks the strength of African qualifiers at this tournament and the pride that drives them. Respect, but not fear.

“We are here to do the job,” he said. “We know Congo is a tough nation, we know how many teams in Africa have qualified for the next round of games. They are a proud nation, and we have got to be ready for what they bring – but it is also about what we bring as a group, and we will be right after them.”

War talk is easy. The real test comes when the whistle blows and the jeopardy of knockout football returns. England say they are ready to chase this World Cup on Tuchel’s terms. Now they have to show it against a nation determined to rip up the script.