Toffees Duo Set to Be Players for Their Countries at Euro 2024

The European Championship takes centre stage this summer, so there will not be much rest for the Everton players involved in the major tournament in Germany. Toffees manager Sean Dyche will be keeping a close eye on them and hoping they can come back injury-free for pre-season training in late June. 

Here is a look at two Everton players who are set to be crucial to their country having success at Euro 2024 this year.

Jordan Pickford (England)

Only David Raya (14) has kept more PL clean
sheets than Jordan Pickford (12) this season. ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/7UdSMBuZoE

— Everton (@Everton) April 28, 2024

Since 2017, Jordan Pickford has been England’s number one goalkeeper under Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate. Despite there being strong competition for the number-one jersey, the Everton shot-stopper has always been favoured by his head coach.

England go into the tournament as the 3/1 favourites for those placing Paddy Power Euros bets. Southgate’s side sit just above France and Germany respectively in the outright betting, as they bid to go one spot better than the 2020 edition.

The Three Lions have been one of the popular football tips for the upcoming tournament, as their squad is well equipped to go all the way this year. Pickford is arguably one of the most important players in Southgate’s starting XI, especially once the knockout stages of the tournament begin.

Pickford was superb for England in their run to the final of Euro 2020. He did not concede a goal until 480 minutes into the tournament, keeping clean sheets against Croatia, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Ukraine. His run without conceding was ended by Denmark in the semi-finals, as documented in the BBC match report.

If England are to end their 58-year wait for a major trophy, they are likely to need a penalty shoot-out success somewhere along the way. Pickford has shown for Everton and England that he can save crucial penalties, and he may be required to do the same again this summer.

Vitaliy Mykolenko (Ukraine)

In what was his third season in the Premier League for Everton, it was another consistent campaign for defender Vitaliy Mykolenko. He played 34 matches for the Toffees, scoring two goals across the season.

Mykolenko is an important player for Ukraine going into Euro 2024. The player has shown up 39 times for his country. He was part of their team which reached the quarter-finals of the last edition of the tournament before they fell to England in the last eight.

Ukraine needed to get through a play-off path in qualifying to book their spot at the European Championship. They defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in the opening round 2-1, before getting the betting of Iceland 2-1 in the final.

Hang it in the Louvre 🎨🖼

What a way to score your first Premier League goal, Vitaliy Mykolenko!

📻 Live updates on @BBCSounds and here 👇#BBCFootball #LEIEVE

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) May 8, 2022

Mykolenko, a former Ukrainian Premier League winner, is one of the first names on Serhiy Rebrov’s starting XI going into Euro 2024. Ukraine will be expected to qualify from Group E along with Belgium. They will then be looking to cause a surprise or two in the knockout stages of the competition.

Hopefully, Pickford and Mykolenko can both produce the same level of performance as they have all season for Everton, and it may be enough to take their respective countries deep into the tournament.