The two Everton players did battle in a hotly-contested affair between England and Colombia at the World Cup.
Yerry Mina has told Everton’s official website that Jordan Pickford is a “fantastic guy” and shared his first conversation with the England goalkeeper after this summer’s bout between The Three Lions and Colombia.
Pickford met with Mina – then a Barcelona player – in the last 16 of the World Cup in Russia as the two sides did battle for a place in the last eight of the biggest footballing competition on the planet.
In what was a hotly-contested affair with many scuffles and aggressive parts of play, England finally earned a place in the last eight thanks to a penalty-shootout win – after Mina had equalised in the last minute of normal time.
Mina then left Barcelona to join Everton and three months later, has commented on England’s number one goalkeeper and stated that the former Sunderland goalkeeper shares a lot of similarities with himself.
“He is someone who defends his goal with everything – like I do – and loves to play with his feet, which is my style of play as well,” Mina said. “On the very first day [I met him], I said to him, ‘We are here now, we are together’.
“I hope that was the start of a great relationship. This is a really great goalkeeper and England’s number one. I think together we can achieve success on the field of play.
“Jordan is a fantastic guy. He speaks with me at training every day and is always telling me things. The best thing is for us to work together and achieve success.”
Mina, 24, had been fighting a foot injury but finally made his debut as a one-minute substitute against Brighton before starting and finishing the draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He earned the man-of-the-match award.
Both Mina and Pickford are expected to combine once again on Saturday as Everton host Cardiff City at Goodison Park.
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