Gareth Southgate has claimed that Ivan Toney was “disgusted” not to come on until the 94th minute in England’s 2-1 over Slovakia.
It was yet another disappointing display on the field from Gareth Southgate’s men against Slovakia, as they fell behind to an Ivan Schranz goal in the 25th minute of their last-16 tie at Euro 2024.
The game almost seemed won for Francesco Calzona’s men, as they held onto their lead until the 95th minute, only for Jude Bellingham to hit a stunning equaliser.
Toney came off the bench a minute earlier, and helped cause problems in the Slovakia defence from a long thrown-in that led to Bellingham’s goal, before going on to set up Harry Kane’s winner right at the start of extra-time.
Southgate revealed after the game that he and Toney had a little bit of a touchline spat before he came on, with the striker having been unhappy not to see any action until the dying moments of the game.
“It is strange, but I never felt tonight would be the end of our tournament,” the England boss told ITV Sport.
Chaos
“Even with the long throw you felt there was hope and we can cause some chaos and something might drop.
“I didn’t think the finish would be quite as it was.
“Ivan Toney was pretty disgusted when I put him on with a minute to go.
“I think we have made up now.
“But he has had a big impact in the second goal.
“You put a sub on at that time then it is a last throw of the dice and he maybe does not even touch the ball, so I completely understand it.
“I do not like putting a player in that position, but I just had a feeling he might be able to cause the bit of chaos that happened.”
While the Three Lions got through to the quarterfinals, Southgate will have a lot of thinking to do with the team still not working at its optimal level.
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The 53-year-old received a lot of criticism from fans and pundits alike over his team selection once again in the Slovakia game and will face even more pressure to tweak his personnel and system in the next round.
The Three Lions will take on an in-form Switzerland side in the quarterfinals on July 6 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
Toney is likely to have to make do with a bench role once again as he continues to play second fiddle to Harry Kane upfront.
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