Pickford's unique error means England U17s wait for qualification

(GETTY IMAGES)

Jordan Pickford will have hoped to make a name for himself in the Under-17 World Cup, but he may now wish he was still as anonymous as most England youth internationals.

The teenaged goalkeeper made unwanted history in the early hours of yesterday morning when he became the first goalkeeper in any Fifa finals competition to concede a goal to his opposite number.

Embarrassingly, the Sunderland keeper was beaten from 55 yards by Canada's Quillan Roberts as England were surprisingly held in Mexico. It was Canada's first point at this level.

With three minutes of the match left England were set for a victory that would take them into the knock-out stages when Roberts took a free-kick well inside his own half. He thumped it deep, England captain Nathaniel Chalobah challenged for but missed the ball, and it bounced over the flailing Pickford. "It was a freak and bizarre goal," said the England manager, John Peacock.

The notoriety will be Pickford's but equally culpable was Chalobah, who should have cleared the ball. However, Pickford was at fault for Canada's first equaliser when he parried Kevan Aleman's shot into the path of Sadi Jalali. England had led through Liverpool's Adam Morgan, with a neat flick from a free-kick by Crewe's Nick Powell, and a stunning drive from substitute Blair Turgott, of West Ham.

England's final group match is against Uruguay on Saturday night. A point will ensure qualification; even in defeat they may well progress.

Goalscoring goalkeepers

Alex Stepney

The former Manchester United goalkeeper has a rare claim to fame: he scored twice (from penalties) but was also beaten when a goal-kick from Spurs' Pat Jennings bounced over him in the 1967 Charity Shield.

Peter Schmeichel

The Dane scored a dozen goals in his career but the best-known is his last-minute equaliser against Rotor Volgograd in 1995 which maintained Manchester United's unbeaten European record at Old Trafford.

Jimmy Glass

Glass played just three games on loan to Carlisle from Swindon in 1999, but in the 95th minute of the third he scored from a corner to earn Carlisle a 2-1 win that kept them in the League.

Jose Luis Chilavert

The Paraguayan scored 62 goals, including eight in internationals. He once scored a hat-trick of penalties for Argentina's Velez Sarsfield.

Rogerio Ceni

In March the 38-year-old scored his 100th goal, the first keeper to do so. A penalty-taker and free-kick expert, he is now approaching 1,000 club matches for Sao Paulo.

Hans-Jörg Butt

The Bayern Munich keeper has scored 29 senior goals. He once scored a penalty for Leverkusen, only for opponents Schalke 04 to score from a quick kick-off while he was still celebrating.