Blues Star In World Cup Warm-Ups & Friendlies

Jordan Pickford, Nathan Patterson, Tom King and Republic of Ireland trio Mark Travers, Jake O’Brien and Seamus Coleman all swapped the royal blue of Everton for the colours of their national teams on Saturday.

Pickford started from the off as England defeated New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa – Thomas Tuchel’s men preparing for the upcoming World Cup with a friendly in one of the host nations: the United States.

The shot-stopper played the opening 45 minutes, before Tuchel’s heavily-rotated XI emerged from the tunnel for the second half. England’s number one kept a clean sheet whilst on the pitch, as Harry Kane’s glancing header decided the affair at the other end.

Elsewhere, Travers, O’Brien and Coleman all started from the off as the Republic of Ireland were held to a 1-1 draw by Canada.

An unfortunate own goal from O’Brien saw the Canucks take the lead, but a Player of the Match performance from the defender ensured the scores ended level after Chiedozie Ogbene netted on the hour mark.

He and Travers played every minute, with Coleman making way for Killian Phillips on 70 minutes.

Patterson’s Scotland stepped up their preparations for the World Cup – the Tartan Army cruising to a 4-0 win against Bolivia.

The full-back was named on the bench, but played 45 minutes last week as the Scots convincingly saw off Curacao 4-1.

King was named amongst the substitutes as Wales travelled to face Romania for an evening kick off in Bucharest.

A late strike saw the hosts slay the Red Dragons after David Brooks cancelled out Florinel Coman’s initial effort.