World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Sweden lost 0-2 to England

#3 Failure to get past a sharp Pickford

Sweden could not find a way past Pickford

Sweden did up their intensity by a notch after the re-start and began churning out potential goal-scoring chances. But where the English defence appeared to be beaten, there was the big, daunting figure of young Jordan Pickford who would stand up to bail out his defence. The 24-year-old has made a name for himself in the World Cup finals, impressing with his reflexive shot-stopping and a wide distribution range.

First he got down low to brilliantly deny Marcus Berg with a one-handed save, before sprawling himself out to get his body behind winger Viktor Claesson’s shot after Sweden launched a quick attack. The pick of the lot was a tipping save over the bar from Berg’s powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Sweden hadn’t tested Pickford enough for their liking, but when they did, they could not find a way past him. Pickford was sharp, got his positioning right and gave away no loose balls for the opposition to exploit. Whether it was a lack of Swedish efficiency or a display of top-class goalkeeping is for the onlookers to debate.

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