Thibaut Courtois has mocked Jordan Pickford for being too short to save the shot from Adnan Januzaj which sealed Belgium's World Cup win over England on Thursday.

In a tight game in Group G, Januzaj scored the only goal by curling a fine effort into the top corner of Pickford's net. It sealed Belgium's position at the top of the table with nine points from nine and left England as runners up.

But Courtois believes he would have found it easy to pluck Januzaj's shot from the air and suggests England's goalkeeper Pickford was 'too busy' trying to make a dramatic dive than actually saving the ball.

Jordan Pickford has been criticised by Thibaut Courtois for being 'too short' to save a shot

Speaking to Voetball24, Courtois said: 'The goalkeeper is 10cm smaller than me.

'I would have caught it. He was too busy throwing his legs in the air.'

Pickford's failure to save Januzaj's shot did not escape the attention of Gary Neville, who said his diving effort left him unconvinced.

Speaking on ITV, the former Manchester United defender said: 'His feet are off the ground when he’s jumping. He goes with his wrong hand. It’s just a bit weird.'

Courtois, standing at 6ft 5in, benefits from being taller than the vast majority of footballers

At 6ft 5in, Courtois is one of the most imposing goalkeepers on the international scene and is the joint-third tallest out of 736 players competing at the World Cup this summer.

Comparatively, Pickford stands at 6ft 1in, which is a full four inches shorter than his understudy Jack Butland. However, the added athleticism that his shorter stature invites was enough to win over Gareth Southgate.

Pickford is expected to retain his position in between the sticks when England take on Colombia in the first knockout round on Tuesday evening.

Courtois' comments are likely to be picked up by the likes of Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado, who may well be practising lobbed shots over the weekend.