Brentford striker Ivan Toney could finally earn his first cap for England against Ukraine, as hinted by Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.
The 27-year-old has been ripe for an England cap for two straight seasons after proving himself at the highest level of English football. However, Southgate has chosen time and again to go with other players despite calls from the English fans for the former Newcastle United youngster to be played in an official game for England.
Toney has been called up to a few camps but was always on the verge of switching nationalities to Jamaica for the sake of earning an international cap. He never gave it much thought, however, but the fans piled pressure on Southgate to consider him lest he finally makes a decision.
He missed out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar but is currently part of the England squad that is partaking in the March international break. The Three Lions have played and won their first game of the break, a UEFA Euro Championship qualifier against Italy which they won 2 – 1. Their next game is against Ukraine and Southgate has hinted that the Brentford man could finally make his debut for England.
Toney may not start the full game due to the importance of the fixture. Southgate cannot afford to make mistakes despite their big win at Italy, their first in more than three decades. Pundits have even predicted the former midfielder to go with the same starting XI that faced and defeated the Azzurri in Naples.
Southgate dropped these hints in the pre-match press conference on Saturday before the game on Sunday.
“Toney has been very good. We really like him and he is very much in our thoughts,” the England manager said on Saturday. “The numbers [players] we’ve got with us now, there’s always the dual objective.
“There’s the desire to see players, but we’re in a qualifying group so the priority is to always win the game first and foremost.”
This is Toney’s second callup to the Three Lions’ squad and he could finally have his opportunity to make his mark, just like he has done in only two seasons in the English top flight.
He has an uphill battle to become the team’s starting striker, however, with Harry Kane on an impressive run of form that has seen him break Wayne Rooney’s long standing record of being England’s highest goalscorer ever.
He also has to compete with the likes of Callum Wilson of Newcastle and Marcus Rashford, who is versatile enough to play down the middle.
Toney’s possible debut against Ukraine could be a big audition for his future in the team.
