Sport
Jake Brigstock
Jul 08, 2024
Niche Media / VideoElephant
Football fans on social media are in disbelief at what England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford looks like without the usual slicked back hair he has on the pitch.
The 30-year-old was one of the heroes of England's penalty shootout win against Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, saving Manuel Akanji's penalty early on.
That's after England fought back from falling behind to a Breel Embolo tap-in with 15 minutes of normal time left to go before Bukayo Saka scored a stunner five minutes later - the game was 1-1 after extra-time.
After the win, captain Harry Kane posted a picture on him alongside Pickford, Luke Shaw and Tom Heaton who is with the camp as a training goalkeeper.
But fans can't believe what Pickford looks like without his signature slicked back look.
Pickford can be seen on the left of the picture with "everyday" hair.
Some fans didn't even recognise it was him in the picture - some thought it was Anthony Gordon.
Eagle-eyed viewers watching the game on screens noticed Pickford had a cheat sheet on his water bottle telling him which way Switzerland's penalty takers were likely to go.
England scored all five of their penalties in the shootout and the significance of those who scored is probably bigger than you think.
James Corden even delayed the start of his play The Constituent in London as he spotted a number of punters on their phones when the curtain was due to rise - so instead he watched the game with them and provided live commentary with the show starting soon after the winning penalty.
It's not the first time Pickford's been the subject of memes on social media recently - after the Switzerland game, a number of social media users were quick to praise or poke fun at him.
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