In a game in which England hit Iran for six, the cardboard cut-out of Jordan Pickford that BBC news showed on display at a Knaresborough primary school earlier in the day could have been deployed in between the sticks for long periods but given the dominance of his side, the Everton goalkeeper will be disappointed to have conceded two goals.
The Blues player could not have been faulted for either but predictably, his usual critics will no doubt find some pedantic stick to try and bash him with.
Such is the scrutiny that Pickford is regularly placed under, you wouldn’t be surprised if some viewers even blamed the aforementioned life size replica of him for being beaten easily by a couple of pea-roller shots that the children tapped past him as they geared up for the big game.
