Alan Shearer has told Match of the Day 2 on Sunday evening that Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope is pushing Everton’s Jordan Pickford to start for England ahead of the World Cup – branding him as “unbelievable”.
Pope, 30, joined Newcastle from Burnley in the summer as one of three new signings – along with Matty Targett and Sven Botman. He has since starred between the sticks, clocking up two clean sheets in his first two matches.
Against Manchester City, he was also incredible. While he did concede three goals, he could do very little about any of the three. But on another day, Manchester City could easily have scored four or five. But Pope was in the way.
He produced two stunning stops to deny Erling Haaland – the first, tipping the Norwegian’s shot onto the post. Then, Haaland was put through on goal and he stopped the ex-Dortmund man at close range. Shearer was full of praise.
The Toon legendsaid his first save from Haaland as “unbelievable”. He followed that up by suggesting Pope is pushing Everton goalkeeper Pickford to start for England at the World Cup this year, after a stunning start at Newcastle.
“Earned his team a point at Brighton last week. He more than played his part today, the number of saves he made today. He looked big in a 1 v 1 position,” Shearer summarised on Match of the Day 2, on Sunday.
“That is an unbelievable save [tipping Haaland’s shot on to the post], just gets down to his left-hand side. He’s pushing Jordan Pickford. He’s started the season really, really well. If he continues, he will more than push Pickford.”
Shearer: Newcastle goalkeeper Pope is “unbelievable”
When Newcastle signed Pope for £10million, he was seen as a bargain. Now, after his first three games, Pope might be one of the best signings of the summer in terms of Premier League incomings. He has been excellent so far.
In terms of England, Pickford sits above Pope due to his ability in possession. But Pope has got to convince Southgate when it comes to shot-stopping. He is surely above Everton’s goalkeeper when it comes to saving shots on goal.
While Pickford might be better with his feet, Pope will win games and it might be that at the World Cup, he saves the shots that guide England all the way to the final.
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