It’s often felt that Ivan Toni’s entry into the game should be accompanied by drumbeats. The Brentford striker is full of a showman’s energy and immense confidence. As Tony looks ahead to England’s Wembley friendly against Belgium on Tuesday night, the only surprise is the identity of the man who pulled out a stick to help.
Gareth Southgate is reluctant to reveal details of his squad, although he is not alone among his peers in that regard. But the England coach has made it clear that Tony will play against Belgium. In a way, this isn’t shocking. With Harry Kane sidelined with an ankle injury, Ollie Watkins played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil at Wembley.
Toney vs Watkins is undoubtedly Kane’s substitute role at Euro 2024; Southgate is unlikely to name three specialist No.9 players in his 23-man squad. Another major contender, Callum Wilson, is a long-term injury victim. So after Watkins faced Brazil – another audition following a poor showing in a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in Skopje in November – Toni was expected to get the nod.
But that’s the way Southgate designs it – not just advance notice; talk about opportunity and stakes. It amounted to a challenge, which you suspected was just the way Tony liked it. “You can’t hide the fact,” Southgate said when asked how much Tuesday meant to Toni.
“He knows it. It will be his first start, so you have to remember that too.
“But that’s the landscape for England. You don’t get hundreds of chances. I think every player recognizes that this is the world we live in. He’s a confident guy who has achieved great results with good performances at the club. He has improved. There is no doubt that he will play on Tuesday.”
Does Southgate like Tony’s confidence? “Yes, it’s important, especially for forward players,” he said. “That swagger, that confidence. All the top forwards have it.”
Toney, who was banned for eight months for breaching Football Association betting rules, has scored four goals in 10 games for Brentford since his high-profile return on January 20. If this is part of the reason he has only made one appearance for England – an 81st-minute substitute against Ukraine at Wembley last March – then it also adds to his performance against Belgium background.
Tony has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the FA. In November 2022, just before Southgate named Qatar’s World Cup squad, he spoke of his shock at how “they” “decided to go all out”.
It should be said that the report that Tony was being investigated for gambling violations was actually broken by a newspaper; it was hardly an FA press release, and he had not been charged at the time. But Tony felt the news made it impossible for Southgate to select him, which he did not do, which was more severe than his eventual suspension, which was not confirmed until May.
Southgate said on Thursday that Toney needed to put to rest any negative thoughts he had about the FA and the issue at hand was also sensitive as it spoke to England’s biggest fear – losing Kiev before or during the European Championships. kindness.
It’s sometimes said that being the captain’s understudy is a thankless job, and Southgate certainly doesn’t want to see him forced into service. But Kane is now injured after colliding with the goal frame in Bayern Munich’s win over Darmstadt on March 16, and despite his excellent fitness record in recent seasons there is always the possibility that he will be injured again.
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Southgate addressed other concerns after the Brazil game, saying it was a “strange camp” due to various factors. He said he had to replace Ben Chilwell and Harry Maguire because he dominated their minutes after returning from injury last weekend. Jude Bellingham had to come off with cramp. He has made just two appearances for Real Madrid since February 10 due to ankle problems and suspension. Kyle Walker also left the game early after feeling a hamstring injury. Walker and Maguire have now both left training camp with injuries, along with backup goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
Luke Shaw’s long-term hamstring injury is a concern, while Southgate can’t hide his frustration at the knee problem that has cost him Trent Alexander-Arnold. He had wanted to try using Liverpool players in midfield against Brazil and/or Belgium, having only done so previously against lower-ranked opponents.
Southgate likes the idea of Alexander-Arnold in midfield and may prefer him after Kalvin Phillips’ poor form resulted in him being left out of the squad. Southgate believes Alexander-Arnold is more of a right-wing number eight, raising the question of how he would work with Bellingham, who will operate as a number 10 this season.
One thing is obvious. We won’t know until Southgate confirms his training squad for the Euros. Unknown equals risk.
“We missed two opportunities in September [when Alexander‑Arnold was injured for the away games against Ukraine and Scotland] It’s really frustrating now because there’s so much unknown,” Southgate said.
“I’ve liked this idea for a long time, but when we haven’t seen it in a really high-level game, we’re going to try it. We’ll just have to see where we can take it.”
