England eventually beat Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024, but boss Gareth Southgate had to call upon his full squad as the minnows took the Three Lions all the way to extra-time
Gareth Southgate has revealed Ivan Toney was ‘disgusted’ at being brought off the bench four minutes into injury time during England’s win over Slovakia.
Toney has spent the entirety of Euro 2024 on the bench and was again named among the substitutes on Sunday. But with the Three Lions a goal down heading into the final two minutes of stoppage time, Southgate opted to throw on the Brentford star.
Almost immediately, Jude Bellingham scored with a stunning overhead kick to equalise. That sent the game into extra-time, where Toney proved Southgate’s decision to throw him on was the right one.
After Eberechi Eze’s mishit shot spun into the air, Toney headed the ball across goal where a waiting Harry Kane nodded England in front. But Southgate revealed after his side’s win that Toney was less than pleased to be called upon.
“I had belief we would get a goal. The boys that came on, Ivan (Toney) played a big part – he was disgusted at me putting him on at that moment. There’s no question he was pretty disgusted when I put him on with a minute to go,” the England boss said.
“I think we’ve made up now. He’s had a big impact in the second goal as well. You put a sub on at that time, it is a final throw of the dice. I completely understand it. I don’t like putting a player in that position.
“But I had the feel that he’d be able to cause the chaos that happened. I have to say the courage shown by the players was fantastic tonight. We haven’t come to get to a quarter-final.
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“But to get through a night like tonight was fantastic character. We now play a Swiss team that have been very good. We have a couple of days to recover and get ready for them. We had enough attacking players on the pitch.”
Toney failed to confirm Southgate’s revelation in his own post-match interview. But he did insist every member of the squad had to be ready to be called upon as he was on Sunday evening.
“I didn’t play for the first three games, you have to be ready. You don’t know when your chance is going to come. But I was in the right place at the right time to flick it to the back post,” he told ITV.
“We literally spoke about that before the game kicked off and he put it into the back of the net. Players dropped into positions they don’t normally play but we have quality players who are capable of playing anywhere.
“We had to defend at times. But the players we had defended very well. Hopefully this will kick us forward now. It should be a kickstart. Performances haven’t quite been there, but we’re getting results.”
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