by It often feels like Ivan Toney’s entrance into a game should be accompanied by a drum roll. The Brentford striker exudes the energy of a showman, supreme self-confidence. The only surprise, as Toney looked ahead to England’s Wembley friendly with Belgium on Tuesday night, was the recognition of the man who got the sticks to supply him.
Gareth Southgate is not given to revealing the details of his line-up, although he is hardly alone among his colleagues in this regard. But the England manager has said that Toney will play against Belgium. On one level, it’s not a shock. Harry Kane is out with an ankle problem and Ollie Watkins played the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s 1-0 Wembley win over Brazil.
Toney v Watkins will certainly see Kane in the back-up role at Euro 2024; Southgate is unlikely to name three specialist No 9s in his 23-man squad. The other main contender, Callum Wilson, is a long-term injury casualty. And so after Watkins against Brazil – another inconclusive hearing after being marginalized in the 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in Skopje in November – Toney was expected to get the nod.
Related: Does Gareth Southgate have the instinct to make the right substitutions for England? | Jonathan Liew
But it’s how Southgate framed it – not just the pre-announcement; discuss the opportunity and what was involved. It involved laying down a challenge that you suspect is just how Toney likes it. “You can’t hide that,” said Southgate, when asked how big Tuesday was for Toney.
“He knows. It would be his first start so you have to take that into account as well.
“But with England, that’s the landscape. You don’t get hundreds of opportunities. I think every player recognizes that’s the world we live in. He is a confident man, he comes in at the back of a good distance with his club. He will be on the pitch on Tuesday, no question.”
Does Southgate like Toney’s confidence? “Yes, it’s crucial, especially for starting players,” he said. “That swagger, that self-belief. The best forward players have it.”
Toney has four goals in 10 games for Brentford since his high-profile return on January 20 from his eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules. If this is part of the reason he has only one England cap – as an 81-minute substitute against Ukraine at Wembley in March last year – his involvement against Belgium provides a background highlight.
Toney has made no secret of his displeasure with the FA over the saga. He spoke of his devastation at how they “decided” to take it all out in November 2022, just before Southgate named his squad for the Qatar World Cup.
It should be said that the story of Toney being investigated for betting violations was broken by a newspaper; It was barely an FA press release and, at that point, he wasn’t charged. But Toney felt the revelation made it impossible for Southgate to pick him, which he did not, and was a harsher punishment than his eventual suspension, which was not confirmed until May.
Southgate said last Thursday that Toney needed to field any negative thoughts he may have towards the FA and the issue at hand is also sensitive as it relates to England’s worst fear – losing Kane before or during the European Championship.
Being the captain’s understudy is sometimes said to be a thankless job and Southgate certainly doesn’t want to see him forced into active service. But Kane is now injured, having collided with the goalpost in Bayern Munich’s win at Darmstadt on March 16, and there is always the possibility of a repeat, despite his excellent fitness record in recent seasons.
Southgate spoke after the Brazil game about other concerns, how it had been a “strange camp” due to various factors. He said he had to replace Ben Chilwell and Harry Maguire as he managed their minutes after both returned from injury the previous weekend. Jude Bellingham had to come out after cramping up; he has played just twice for Real Madrid since February 10 due to an ankle injury and suspension. Kyle Walker also made an early exit after feeling his hamstring. Walker and Maguire have both left camp through injury, along with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
Related: Conor Gallagher his way into England’s Euro 2024 midfield plans | Jonathan Liew
Luke Shaw’s long-term hamstring injury is a major concern, although Southgate could not hide his frustration at the knee problem that has sidelined Trent Alexander-Arnold. He wanted to try a Liverpool player in midfield against Brazil and/or Belgium, having only previously done so against inferior opposition.
Southgate likes the idea of Alexander-Arnold in midfield and is likely to do so even more after the loss of Kalvin Phillips, which left him out of the squad. Southgate reckons Alexander-Arnold is more of a No. 8 of the right side, which raises the question of how he might work with Bellingham, whose manager has come to play as No. 10 this season.
One thing is simple. We won’t know until Southgate names his training squad for the European Championships. And the unknown equals risk.
“We missed two chances in September [when Alexander‑Arnold was injured for the away games against Ukraine and Scotland] and now this, which is really frustrating because there is so much that is not known about it,” said Southgate.
“I’ve liked the idea for a long time but we’re going to try it when we haven’t seen it in a high-level game. We’ll just have to see where we can go with it.”
