5 players who perform better for their countries than clubs

#3 Jordan Pickford

Italy v England - UEFA Euro 2020: Final

Jordan Pickford is far from being labelled the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. Whenever he pulls on the England jersey, he turns into the second coming of Gordon Banks. The difference between his quality of performances for Everton and England is quite explicit.

Pickford was one of the reasons why the Three Lions have been so successful at recent major tournaments. The shot-stopper kept five clean sheets in seven games at Euro 2020. In 42 England matches, he has managed to keep 21 clean sheets while conceding 31 goals.

On the other hand, he has recorded just 51 shut-outs in 184 appearances for The Toffees. Everton’s defense is not as good as England’s, which is a fair counterpoint to this debate. But Pickford looks much more confident for his country, which has kept the likes of Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale away from the English starting XI.

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#2 Granit Xhaka

Republic of Ireland v Switzerland - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier

Granit Xhaka’s time at Arsenal has been filled with disappointing moments. From the controversy surrounding his captaincy to his indiscipline on the pitch, Xhaka’s stint at The Emirates has never been short of drama. Overall, he has racked up 63 yellow cards and four red cards for Arsenal.

That is not to say that he is a saint-like figure whenever he plays for Switzerland. But his exploits are far more meaningful for his national team. The midfield general has been a mainstay for the Red Crosses, earning 98 appearances.

Arsenal have looked thin in the middle of the park for quite some time now. Had Xhaka performed for them as he has been doing for Switzerland, the Gunners wouldn’t have faced this problem. The Swiss skipper is a shadow of himself when he plays in the Premier League.

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#1 Olivier Giroud

France v Croatia - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final

Olivier Giroud’s impact in the Premier League for Arsenal and Chelsea will not be remembered as anything extraordinary as time goes on. Although he wasn’t the most skillful or flashy player, he did his primary job of scoring goals pretty well. At the national level, though, he has been splendid.

Giroud has scored 46 goals in 110 matches for France and is just five goals behind Thierry Henry in the all-time charts. His goal-to-game ratio is better than Henry, Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema, all of whom are more prolific than Giroud at club level.

On the other hand, he scored 90 goals in 255 matches for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League. He was a decent striker in the English top-flight, but his French record is brilliant. He will go down in French football's history books if he manages to break Henry’s record.