"That was unreal. You'll never get moments like that again in football," Everton No1 Pickford told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Come to the Azteca, it is once in a lifetime. A bucket-list memory. Everyone talking about altitude. It was us against them. We rolled our sleeves up and we got the victory.
"It wasn't pretty, but it was bloody tough. You've got to roll your sleeves up and dig in.
"It was an all-round gutsy, togetherness performance. That is what we are. We're England and that's what we do."
Pickford insisted the pressure only sharpened his focus.
"I was in the moment. We all know when we come into pressure situations, I have got that character where I step up and I have got that mindset where I feel unbelievable. That's why I put the hard work in on the training ground and away from the training ground. Moments like that you have got to enjoy."
Even the altitude, so often cited as a leveller, worked in his favour.
"It was easier! It was brilliant. I loved it. We did one training session yesterday and I felt good. As soon as I felt the ball in my hands, and tonight in the warm-up, I knew I was in that moment straight away."
Pickford put his two crucial stops down to positioning rather than instinct. "There were two good ones. You talk about being in the right position as a goalkeeper. Making that save, it was a good save, but I made it good because I was in the right position to make that save."
Jude Bellingham, scorer of two goals, admitted the occasion could easily have overwhelmed a younger England side.
"Hard to gather it all together really. With 10 men defending how we defended our box, being clinical how we were in their box. Big pressure moments in years gone by, watching as a fan, as a kid, England probably would have crumbled, but we stuck together until the last second," the Real Madrid ace told BBC Sport.
"The atmosphere was by far the best I have played against in international football. This country as a footballing country is magnificent. The reception we had coming off the plane, although it was hostile, it was beautiful to see how passionate one country can be about their team."
Bellingham brushed off several contentious refereeing calls.
"The refereeing decisions, it is what it is. It's the World Cup and they are human too. As easy as it is to say now, they are human, we made a lot more than they did, but no worries, we got through."
He rated his first-half goal-line clearance as being every bit as significant as either goal.
"It could have been. At 2-1 the game was still there, especially when they scored. It felt like the stadium almost collapsed. So it was probably an important clearance, just as important as the goals, but this win is far more than me. It is the players that came on, the supporters who have come to Mexico and probably had a difficult journey and paid hard-earned money. It is a whole country's performance."