Jordan Pickford declares England ready to fight for Tuchel

Jordan Pickford says England are ready to “go to war” for Thomas Tuchel. It is not a throwaway line. Not from a goalkeeper who has lived every high and low of this team for the best part of a decade.

England arrive in the World Cup last 32 with a familiar burden and a slightly different edge. Top of Group L after a controlled 2-0 win over Panama in New Jersey, they now face DR Congo in a knockout tie that will test not just their quality, but their nerve and their new identity under Tuchel.

Pickford’s rallying cry

Pickford has been here before. European Championship finals under Sir Gareth Southgate, penalty shootouts, the weight of a nation hanging on his gloves. Through it all, he has been one of the constants, one of the voices that never shies away from expectation.

This time, he insists, something has shifted.

“Belief, togetherness,” he told BBC Sport when asked what separates this campaign from the last. England have talked about those themes for years, but Pickford points straight at the man now in charge. “I think we have had that previously, but I think the manager’s got that belief in us.”

Tuchel, known for his forensic preparation and emotional intensity, appears to have struck a chord with a group that already knew how to go deep into tournaments. Pickford describes team meetings that feel less like briefings and more like battle plans.

“The meetings the manager has with us, it is like you are ready to go to war. He puts that belief in you,” the Everton goalkeeper said. Tactical sessions, video work, dressing-room talks – all of it, he suggests, builds to a simple message: “Yeah, it is go time.”

There is no attempt to downplay the stakes. No softening of the language. “We all want the same goal, we all want that end goal,” Pickford added. “This squad he has picked, we are all in good spirits and all in good moments in our career.”

A goalkeeper still growing

Behind the bravado lies a quieter story of personal work. Pickford, now firmly established as England’s No 1, continues to see a psychologist, a deliberate choice to refine the mental side of his game as the pressure grows.

Speaking to ITV Sport, he opened a window into that process. It is not about reinventing himself, but sharpening the version that already stands between England and disaster.

“(It is) a lot of growth I am working on and being the best version of myself,” he said. “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.”

For a goalkeeper, those margins matter. One decision in a last-32 tie can define a tournament. Pickford knows it, and he is choosing to confront it head-on rather than pretend the noise does not exist.

Congo next, and no appetite for drama

The next assignment is clear. DR Congo, through as one of the best third-placed teams after their win over Uzbekistan, stand between England and the last 16. On paper, England are favourites. On the pitch, knockout football does not care for reputation.

Pickford’s record in shootouts makes him an obvious subplot. If this tie drags into extra-time and beyond, few in an England shirt will carry more responsibility. He is not hiding from that scenario, but he is not welcoming it either.

“We want to win the game in 90 minutes,” he told ITV. The message is blunt. Take control early. Do the job properly. “But we will be ready as a team, as a group, as England to do what it takes to get the victory.”

If it stretches, they trust their depth. “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 respect, too, for what awaits them. DR Congo arrive as part of a strong African contingent, a reminder that this World Cup has not followed any neat hierarchy of footballing power.

“We are here to do the job,” Pickford 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.”

England talk now like a side that understands the thin line between promise and regret. Tuchel’s language has clearly cut through. Pickford’s, even more so. The war he speaks of is a footballing one, fought over 90 minutes, maybe 120, maybe from 12 yards.

The question is no longer whether this team believes. It is whether that belief finally carries them past the ghosts of 1966.