Jordan Pickford at it again with Croatia stars’ penalty habits written on his water bottle

JORDAN PICKFORD is at it again with a list of Croatian penalty takers and what side they were likely to pick cheekily written on his water bottle.

The Three Lions keeper has become renowned for the cunning manoeuvre, having utilised it to great effect at the World Cup as well as against the USA this week.

The England and Everton goalkeeper secretly made a note of which direction each Croatian was likely to go in case he faced any penalties.

It was the second time this week Pickford had been pictured using the cheeky tactic, having made notes during England's friendly against the USA.

The 24-year-old also benefited from the same trick against Colombia in England's dramatic penalty shootout win at the World Cup - ending our World Cup jinx.

Pickford saved Carlos Bacca's spot-kick thanks to his research but admitted Radamel Falcao placed his shot differently to what he had expected.

And this season the Everton stopper, 24, has kept out three penalties including Luka Milivojevic's last month.

Pickford said: "I forgot to do my research to be honest but watching other games back and you can see he [Milivojevic] is a very good penalty taker so I was pleased to save that penalty."

This time, Pickford's memos were not needed as goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane saw the Three Lions bounce back from a goal behind to defeat seal promotion to the Nations League finals.

Kane was bundled by his elated team-mates after his late winner, eight minutes after Lingard levelled proceedings following Andrej Kramarac's second-half strike.

After the game, Gareth Southgate told England fans that their "special" support is giving players the desire to create history.

The Three Lions boss heaped praise on England supporters after the World Cup showing and progress being made on the field has sparked a new bond between fans and players.

Speaking after England's 2-1 win, Southgate said: "The biggest thing for me is the connection with the fans.

"I’ve not seen the new Wembley like that, certainly since I’ve been in charge. But the way everything feels around the fans, the support for the team is very special.