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As Jordan Pickford gears up for his fifth major tournament with England, the dependable Three Lions goalkeeper insists that his team have every reason to be optimistic ahead of this summer’s World Cup campaign.

Thomas Tuchel’s squad will travel to North America determined to end a 60-year wait for a major international title, in a World Cup where there appears to be no single dominant favourite.

For Pickford, the painful six-decade drought could finally end if England manage to deliver their best performances when the pressure peaks.

Pickford spoke to FourFourTwo as part of their special 2026 World Cup edition, which highlights England's ambitions in the United States, features interviews with Jordan Pickford and Morgan Rogers, a look at Scotland’s return to the world stage, insights from Mauricio Pochettino, analysis of the biggest upsets, plus an extensive wallchart and tournament preview.

“That makes it even more important that we prepare as well as possible and perform at our highest level in every match,” Pickford told FourFourTwo when asked whether the absence of a clear frontrunner could boost England’s chances this summer.

“We must be better prepared than anyone else and make sure we reach our peak at exactly the right time.”

Pickford’s first major outing with England came when the team reached their first World Cup semi-final since Italia ’90, a campaign that was later followed by consecutive European Championship finals appearances.

Now an experienced figure within the England setup, the Everton goalkeeper understands what it takes to go deep into a major tournament.

“To win a competition like this, you know there’ll be tough moments along the way, and how we deal with those challenges will determine how far we go,” he explained.

“It’s never going to be a smooth ride. It’s about how you navigate those ups and downs. Historically, you see the top South American and European sides always pushing to the latter stages, and that’s unlikely to change.

“I truly believe we’re among the best teams in the world — whether we succeed or not depends entirely on our ability to bring out the best version of ourselves.”

For Pickford, lifting the World Cup would be the ultimate achievement and a lifelong dream realised.

“You feel that excitement building, knowing what the ultimate goal is, but there’s a lot of hard work to be done before that,” he admitted. “We have to take each game as it comes.”

“The first step is to top the group, then to stay focused through the knockout rounds. Of course, everyone dreams of winning it and visualises that moment, but it all starts with doing every bit of preparation right.”