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Coady Hails Pickford's Influence

Conor Coady believes Everton teammate Jordan Pickford's influence on and off the pitch will be crucial to England's World Cup hopes.

The Blues duo are currently in the Three Lions camp in Qatar, preparing for their Group B opener against Iran on Monday (1pm GMT).

Speaking to the world's press ahead of the tournament, Coady explained the impact of Pickford behind the scenes is equally as impressive as his contributions on the pitch.

"Jordan is a top lad and he brings so much," said Coady. "We've all seen how good he is as a goalkeeper but as a person he's so, so good to have around as well. 

"He's been England's number one for a while now and I think he's been outstanding this season, I really do.

"I've been lucky enough to play in front of him and I know what he brings to us at Everton but even beforehand I knew the quality he had and the character he was from playing with him at England. 

"I get to see it day to day now at Club level - he's a great friend of mine."

Gareth Southgate's side are betting favourites to top their World Cup group - which also includes Wales and the USA - and Coady says every member of the 26-man squad is champing at the bit to be involved. 

The 29-year-old defender also underlined the importance of the collective focus remaining on themselves, rather than being distracted by any other nation in the tournament.

"Everybody is [ready to start against Iran]," added Coady. "Everybody wants to help, to push us as much as they possibly can because that's the only focus we have at the moment. 

"The boys can't wait for it and it's felt like the longest week in the world, I'll be honest! 

"But it's coming round now and we're training hard to make sure we're ready for the game on Monday.

"It's important we focus on ourselves every day to improve ourselves.

"To get anywhere in this competition - to get as far as we want to go, then we're going to have to come up against the highest of high quality opposition.

"We're lucky to be part of it but, at the same time, we're ready for what we're going to face because we've got to be ready for all of these players."