JORDAN PICKFORD was subjected to horrendous homophobic abuse in the dramatic 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico.
Throughout his brilliant performance in the Three Lions’ goal, large sections of the Azteca crowd were howling “puto” at the Everton No1.
Jordan Pickford was superb for England against Mexico Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Jordan Pickford is married to Megan and they have two children Credit: Getty
The controversial word is a constant thorn in the side of impressively evolved Mexican football.
‘Puto’ is the word for a male prostitute.
Sign up for the Football newsletter
Thank you!
Fines are now in excess of £1million that Fifa has hit the Mexican FA with, over its repeated use in stadiums around the world.
And despite many – including former Mexico internationals like Marco Fabian – insisting the term is one of terrace culture and folklore, ‘puto’ is listed as homophobic by CONAPRED, the Mexican government’s anti-discrimination commission.
WAR OF WORDS
BBC commentator slams World Cup organisers during Spain vs Belgium quarter
STICKY RICE
England vs Norway at risk after unprecedented ‘swamp ass’ weather warning
Megan, pictured in the cowboy hat, is always in the stands cheering on her man Credit: Darren Fletcher
The Azteca crowd and the altitude could not stop the Everton star having a stormer Credit: Getty
And Pickford – having the taunt aimed at him during almost every goal-kick he took in the iconic 3-2 win – now has a defensive wall in front of him.
A statement from England fan group Three Lions Pride & Pride In Football said: “[We] were disappointed to see widespread homophobic chanting at the Azteca on Jattvibeday, aimed at Jordan Pickford.
“The ‘puto’ chant isn’t banter, or tradition, or part of footballing culture – it is homophobia.
“No ifs, no buts. It is simply impossible to strip away its history as a homophobic slur.
Jordan has been married to Megan since 2020 Credit: Darren Fletcher
Inside Jordan Pickford’s penalty saving technique as he bids to be England’s Euros hero
JORDAN PICKFORD has regularly been the hero when it comes to a penalty shootout for his country, writes Jon Boon.
The England and Everton goalkeeper, 30, saved Manuel Akanji’s effort for Switzerland to hand the Three Lions an advantage in their shootout win in their Euro 2024 quarter-final.
Now, with the help of Goalkeeper.com, we’ve uncovered Pickford’s penalty-saving technique.
USES HISTORIC TRENDS
Pickford is well prepared when it comes to facing the ball from 12-yards.
His water bottle trick has become infamous with the list of penalty takers and direction of shot taped on to it.
But you cannot always listen blindly to most probable placements, and a goalkeeper’s intuition should also play a role.
That human element remains important.
UTILISES A MIXED STRATEGY
Being a goalkeeper is often called the ‘loneliest job’ in the world.
And when it comes to penalties, your team-mates are solely reliant upon your strategy to save one.
Often, we’ve seen goalies who prefer to favour one side – and continuously dive one way.
However, Pickford adopts a mixed strategy.
Sometimes, he will dive to the power side – saving from Jorginho in the Euro 2020 final.
His save from Akanji in the Swiss shootout was made on the placement side.
TECHNICAL EXECUTION OF DIVE
Goalkeepers are hindered during penalty shootouts – with the Fifa rulebook meaning they have to stay on the line until the shot is taken.
That means the lift off of your dive has to be executed a certain way.
Pickford launches himself from his back foot behind the line, pushes his body weight forwards, makes no large negative step and keeps both hands active to make the save.
This was put into effect when he made saves from Italy’s Andrea Belotti in 2020 and Colombia’s Carlos Bacca at the 2018 World Cup.
France’s Mike Maignan, by comparison, takes a large negative step, and struggles to reach his posts.
CLUB VS COUNTRY METRICS
Interestingly, Pickford is better at saving penalties in shootouts for England than in his overall career average, and better at saving in shootouts vs in game.
Clearly, Pickford performs better in an England shirt and when there is bigger pressure.
Read our full analysis of Jordan Pickford’s penalty-saving techniques…
“This is the third time such chanting has been heard from El Tri fans in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after previous chants occurring against Czechia and Ecuador.
This is simply not good enough.
“Fifa’s weakening of anti-discrimination messaging in the lead-up to, and during, this tournament has had a noticeable impact.
“As stewards of the game, Fifa have a responsibility to protect it, and to make it the beautiful game for everyone.
“We call on the Mexican FA and Fifa to have more effective anti-discrimination messaging and education programmes to tackle such chanting, and if it continues, stronger punishment must be handed out.”
Father-of-three Pickford, married to Megan since 2020, showed no sign of being intimidated by the recurring chant.
He will now be hoping to be on the winning team yet again in this summer’s World Cup and secure a passage into the semi-finals to face Argentina or Switzerland.
World Cup 2026 – all the info
The knockout stages of the World Cup are hotting up as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
England believe football might finally be coming home after 60 years of hurt, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on fire.
But the likes of France, Spain and Argentina are all serious contenders to go all the way.
Heavyweights Germany, Netherlands, Brazil and Portugal have all been knocked out.
LATEST NEWS
KEY INFO
VIDEO
TIPS AND BETTING
TICKETS
If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue.
