England, Pickford yet to be fully tested: Sandhu
After a hectic season that has seen him spend a few months in a bio bubble, then join another with the national team for its remaining World Cup qualifying fixtures, India and Bengaluru FC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu says he is finally getting the chance to have some food cooked by his mother.
Sandhu recently returned from Doha after completing his national team duties. Despite personally earning praise for his performances in goal, India ended the campaign on a disappointing note, with a 1-1 draw against Afghanistan in the last group match seeing them finish with seven points from eight games.
But that is in the past now. With some time off this summer, Sandhu is following the European Championship from home and has also taken up the role of a pundit with Sony Sports Network, the Indian broadcasters of the competition.
Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and German skipper Manuel Neuer, says Sandhu, are the goalkeepers whose performances have impressed him the most. “Donnarumma because of his calmness but also I would say Manuel Neuer. He has been conceding goals but his presence in that team is crucial. He is in a leadership role right now and he is really helping the team out, starting from the back, helping transition from defence to attack,” he said in a video chat.
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Donnarumma and England keeper Jordan Pickford are the only two remaining goalkeepers yet to concede a goal in this competition but Sandhu believes they haven’t faced the stiffest of tests yet. “I think with Donnarumma I can safely say that he hasn’t been (tested) that much to be honest. From the games that we have seen, Italy’s defence is known for being so strong and they have been showing not only in the Euros but before this as well,” said Sandhu.
