England manager Thomas Tuchel has rotated his goalkeeping options during the Nations League, handing 23-year-old James Trafford starts ahead of long-time first-choice Jordan Pickford.
Pickford, who has 91 caps and has been England's undisputed No 1 since 2017, sat on the bench for the last two Nations League fixtures.
Tuchel said the international break was a chance to assess Trafford after the Leeds United goalkeeper's strong start in the Premier League.
The manager clarified that both goalkeepers would receive two starts across the four-match run, stressing the decision was a test of Trafford's progress rather than a punishment for Pickford.
"I felt James deserved to get the two matches, that's why we gave him two matches.
He started the Premier League season well and is getting minutes as No1 at Leeds," Tuchel said.
Tuchel added that Pickford remains in good standing despite the rotation policy.
"Jordan [Pickford] did absolutely nothing wrong, but we wanted to use this competition to see how far actually James is," Tuchel said.
Pundit Sees Timely Experiment
Speaking on talkSPORT's Inside England, pundit Flex noted that Pickford has rarely faced direct competition during his national team career despite previous challenges from other English keepers.
"We've never seen Pickford properly challenged, there's been guys where you say 'let's see how this goes' like with Pope, then we realised," Flex said.
Flex highlighted how former contenders like Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson had brief periods of contention but did not permanently unseat the Everton keeper.
"Ramsdale was getting in at Arsenal, went on a couple of loans and didn't work out.
Dean Henderson, did well at Crystal Palace after he needed to move away from Manchester United," Flex said.
Henderson went on to achieve historic milestones with Crystal Palace after leaving Manchester, though his national team standing remained behind Pickford.
"He achieved historic things with Palace, but did you feel he was big or good enough to replace Jordan Pickford," Flex said.
The pundit pointed out Trafford's development through England's youth setup and his recent career progression leading up to his move to Leeds.
"He has never been truly challenged, and then there's this emergence of this young kid who was outstanding for the under-21s, so he's done it at youth level for the country," Flex said.
Trafford impressed at Burnley before transferring to Manchester City, where Gianluigi Donnarumma's arrival altered his role.
"Then he plays really well at Burnley and gets a huge move to Man City but then they get Donnarumma - he's stuck in limbo," Flex said.
Flex emphasized Trafford's mindset and self-belief as major assets that fit the profile required for the international level.
"But then he moved to Leeds.
He's starting to show there's a lot of talent there, he is young, but he does believe in himself," Flex said.
The talkSPORT commentator described the rotation as a timely transition for the national side.
"He's got a bit of a personality, like Pickford does so he fits the bill. I definitely think there could be a changing of the guards.
I think it's a very well-timed experiment," Flex said.
Trafford made a notable first-half save against Ferran Torres during his recent outing, helping Leeds secure fifth place in the Premier League table with two clean sheets this season.
Meanwhile, Pickford has maintained strong domestic form for Everton, recording five clean sheets in seven matches and winning the August Save of the Month award.
