Gareth Southgate has suggested Ivan Toney will finally make his debut for England in the Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine.
England began their qualification for next summer’s final with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over reigning champions Italy last Thursday, with Declan Rice and Harry Kane both top scorers.
But even though their toughest game has been successfully completed, there is still no room for error as Ukraine are likely to deliver a tricky test at Wembley.
As a result, Southgate is expected to field a similar starting line-up to those who beat Italy – with the clear exception of Kieran Trippier or Ben Chilwell replacing the suspended Luke Shaw.
It also means captain Harry Kane is confident he is back on top as the Tottenham striker has just returned from being England’s all-time top goalscorer.
But depending on how the game goes, Kane may not be able to play the full 90 minutes, with Southgate pointing out that Brentford striker Toney is ready to play for the Three Lions.
“Tony was very good. We like him very much and we are very fond of him,” the England manager said on Saturday.
‘The payment [players] that we have with us now always serves a dual purpose.
“There is a desire to see players, but we are in a qualifying group, so winning the game is always a priority.”
After a record season in the Championship, Toney has established himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League with 31 goals in 64 games over the past two seasons.
The 27-year-old was first called up by his country last September but failed to appear on the pitch and was somewhat controversially ruled out for the 2022 World Cup, with Newcastle’s Callum Wilson chosen instead.
In other team news, Chelsea’s Reece James has pulled out of the squad with a hamstring injury, but Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is now fit again after injury.
“Henderson hasn’t trained much at Liverpool this past week due to illness, but he’s ready to go now,” Southgate added.
‘[Kalvin] Phillips and [Jude] Bellingham is all right. Obviously, with Kalvin he played his first 90 minutes against Italy for a while, so we have to judge the freshness, but that goes for the whole group.
“We have to find the balance between continuity and consistency, but also freshness.”
Source: Subway
Source: Metro
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