By OkayGoal
James Trafford will start in goal for England against Spain in Madrid on Sunday, and he goes into the game with a strong case to be Thomas Tuchel’s first choice. The Leeds United goalkeeper has the best save percentage in the Premier League this season, and he has made more saves than Jordan Pickford.
Tuchel confirmed the change at his press conference on Saturday evening. “James Trafford will play tomorrow. We want to see how far Traff is,” he said. Pickford made his 94th England appearance in the 2-1 win over Croatia on Thursday, which secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
England now need a win at the Metropolitano to finish top of the group, against a Spain side who have a perfect 15 points and beat them 3-2 at Wembley in September.
Why is Trafford starting for England?
Because of his form. Both goalkeepers have played every minute of the Premier League season so far, and both have four clean sheets. But Trafford has conceded fewer goals, eight to Pickford’s ten, and the numbers underneath are even clearer:
| 2026-27 Premier League | Trafford | Pickford |
|---|---|---|
| Goals conceded | 8 | 10 |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 4 |
| Saves | 37 | 28 |
| Save percentage | 82.2% | 73.7% |
Trafford’s 82.2% is the best in the league, ahead of Arsenal’s David Raya on 80%. He has also prevented 4.4 goals by the expected measure, joint-best with Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen and Newcastle’s Lukas Hornicek.
How has Trafford got here?
It has been quite a journey. Trafford came through Manchester City’s academy, made his name at Burnley and then spent last season as City’s back-up, where he played a big part in their two domestic cup wins. He needed to play every week, and Leeds gave him that chance in the summer.
He has taken it. He is a big reason Leeds’ defence has them thinking about Europe, and he made a superb stoppage-time save from Jan Paul van Hecke to protect the 1-0 win over Tottenham before the break.
What about Pickford?
Pickford has been England’s No.1 through several tournaments, and he is not suddenly a bad goalkeeper. His distribution and his big-game record are why Tuchel has trusted him. But he is now in a real fight, and the numbers this season favour the younger man.
Should Trafford be England’s No.1?
Our view: he has earned the chance to make the shirt his, and Spain away is the perfect test. If he performs against the world champions, the debate becomes very real ahead of the next major tournament.
Trafford started England’s first two Nations League games of this cycle, conceding three to Spain at Wembley before keeping a clean sheet against the Czech Republic. Sunday is his chance to show that night at Wembley was a lesson, not a warning.
Tuchel has made it clear he wants to see “how far” Trafford can go. For a keeper who was a back-up a year ago, that is a remarkable place to be. For more on how England’s squad was picked, read about Liam Delap’s England ambitions.