England manager Gareth Southgate is set to hand Nick Pope his first England call up for friendles against Holland and Italy at the end of next month, reports ESPN.
Southgate has a real dilemma on his hands about who should be England’s No.1 goalkeeper at the 2018 World Cup and Pope could be given the chance to audition next month.
Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford are in competition for the No.1 jersey but Southgate is still unsure who to take to Russia as his third goalkeeper as Joe Hart has fallen out of favour at West Ham.
Hart has endured a nightmare two years since Euro 2016 and it would cap a sensational decline if he is left out of the Three Lions squad for this summer’s World Cup.
However, it’s looking increasingly likely that Hart will miss out as things have gone from bad to worse since David Moyes was made West Ham manager in November.
Southgate watched Pope during Burnley’s 1-1 draw with Southampton last weekend and now the 25-year-old is a serious contender to make the squad for England’s upcoming friendlies.
Pope is only experiencing his first taste of Premier League football this season but has grasped his opportunity with both hands since Tom Heaton dislocated his shoulder back in September.
In fact, no English goalkeeper has kept more Premier League clean sheets than Pope this season (9), while only Manchester United’s David de Gea has a better save success rate.
