England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has urged fans to stick with the national team ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pickford said they needed fans to “keep believing in us”.
The Everton keeper, 30, said: “We need them behind us because they are a massive part [of what we do]. The atmosphere they create for us gives us that added edge.”
The squad and fans of the Three Lions are still recovering from Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Slovakia in the last-16.
Gareth Southgate’s players were on the brink of elimination as they trailed 1-0 nearing the end of added time in Gelsenkirchen before Jude Bellingham equalised with what Pickford described as “probably one of the last kicks of the game” to force the match into extra-time.
Some supporters even left the stadium before the end and tried to re-enter the ground when they heard the roars for Bellingham’s goal.
The 30 further minutes had barely started when Harry Kane headed England in front and they survived a nervy finish to reach the last eight of the tournament in Germany.
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Despite reaching the quarter-finals for the fourth successive tournament under Southgate, both manager and players have been heavily criticised for lacking style and cohesion after a series of drab displays.
Some Three Lions fans threw plastic beer containers towards Southgate as he approached them after the draw against Slovenia in the final group game.
Several of the players’ families and friends were sitting nearby and were hit.
Pickford said he wasn’t worried about England’s uninspiring form so far, pointing to the example of Portugal in 2016, who “drew all their group games, but went on to win the tournament”.
England, he said, have got to “show resilience, character, we’ve just got to keep fighting, believe and train hard and get the game-plan right come Saturday against a tough opponent, and hope we’re the better side”.
Kane and Bellingham, with two goals each, are England’s only scorers in the tournament so far, and Pickford called them “world class”.
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Bellingham, whose goal came just a day after his 21st birthday, was the La Liga player of the year in his first season with Real Madrid.
He is, Pickford said, “the golden boy”.
