Pickford backs Tuchel to take England ‘one step further’ in World Cup quest

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford believes incoming boss Thomas Tuchel could be the man to help the country go “one step further” and win the World Cup.

Tuchel was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor on an 18-month contract with the primary mission of winning the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Pickford has been part of the England team which has lost the last two European Championship finals and reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the World Cup.

The Everton keeper believes Tuchel coming in with a short-term goal could help.

“Yeah, you’ve got one goal and one opportunity,” he said. “Our focus is definitely… because we’ve been so close, we want to go that one step further.

“There’s definitely new energy and there’s going to be a lot of competition for places.

“But that’s what it’s about. You want the best players for England at the right moment and hopefully going forward next year we’ve got that squad ready to win.”

Interim boss Lee Carsley, who oversaw the Nations League campaign, handed debuts to eight new players across the six games he was in charge of.

Pickford hopes that the refreshing of the squad will put England in a great position in 18 months’ time.

“I hope so. You’ve seen a lot of debuts this week over the last three camps,” he said.

“There’s definitely new energy and there’s going to be a lot of competition for places.

“But that’s what it’s about. You want the best players for England at the right moment and hopefully going forward next year we’ve got that squad ready to win.

“For me, I always say you’ve got to be on form for your club to get picked for your country.

“I’ve always looked at it that way. That’s what I do. I’ll go back to Everton now, I’ll work my b******s off.

“I’ll work hard on the training pitch, I’ll get myself prepared right for a Saturday and in the game I’ll give it my best shot every time I put my shirt on for the club.”