Izzy Christiansen has shared what Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford did when Harry Kane headed wide from a glorious chance for England in their agonising Euro 2024 clash with Slovakia.
England were far from their best in Gelsenkirchen, with Slovakia taking a shock lead during the first-half in their last 16 tie. But they created more than enough chances to at least take the tie to extra-time, with a place in the quarter-final of Euro 2024 at stake.
And perhaps no player had a better chance than the player every England fan would have wanted the golden opportunity to fall to, with Harry Kane getting on the end of a glorious Phil Foden free-kick just before the final 10 minutes.
Kane was on the edge of the six-yard box, but somehow managed to head wide to the astonishment of almost everyone inside the stadium.
How Jordan Pickford reacted to Harry Kane miss
One of those left in disbelief, as Izzy Christiansen told BBC Radio Five Live (broadcast on 30/6; 18:38), was Jordan Pickford.
“Yeah, Pickford’s reaction to that chance was interesting,” she said. “He’s just dropped down to his knees, he’s put his hands on the floor, almost in like a yoga position, he knows how close that was. And the fans can feel it behind me, increasingly frustrated, their facial expressions, they’re nervy.”
Goalkeeper mirrored millions of England fans
If you gave Harry Kane that chance 100 times, he would probably score it 99 times. Unfortunately for the Three Lions, Sunday saw that one moment where he somehow did not even manage to hit the target.
The Everton goalkeeper’s reaction would have mirrored what so many would have felt. England had been so poor throughout the tournament, but the supporters would have still hoped that they would find another gear to get the better of Slovakia.
There was no gear, and just when it appeared as though the captain was going to have the moment to drag his side back into the game, he fluffed his lines completely.
