Ivan Toney in last-chance saloon to e book his England place in Euro 2024 squad

On Jun 4, 2024

Ivan Toney will get one last chance to save himself from Euro 2024 heartbreak.

The Brentford striker is desperate to be in the England squad for Germany, for what would be his first major tournament.

But the 28-year-old knows he is running out of time to show Gareth Southgate he is worth a seat on the plane.

Toney was left stuck on the bench as England beat Bosnia & Herzegovina 3-0 at St James’ Park on Monday night, in their penultimate warm-up game before the tournament.

Southgate chose Ollie Watkins to lead the attack, then sent on Harry Kane instead of Toney to replace the Aston Villa forward in the second half.

And Southgate admits he needs to give Kane more game time when the Three Lions complete their Euro preparations against Iceland at Wembley on Friday.

Southgate is desperate to get his captain match sharp ahead of the opening group game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on June 16.

It means Toney could get less than half a game to show Southgate he should be chosen as Kane’s back up at the Euros.

Southgate admits Toney will be stepping into the last chance saloon. Southgate said: “He [Toney] will be involved in the game on Friday.

“But I have got to get Harry Kane right, so sometimes the priorities of what’s required and what you would like to see as well, you can’t achieve all of those objectives. It’s as simple as that.”

Missing out on the Euros would be a crushing blow to Toney. He returned from an eight-month betting ban in January and has made it his mission to be part of Southgate’s squad.

But he managed just four goals in 17 appearances and failed to score in his last 12 games of the Premier League season.

If Toney misses out this summer, he will be 30 by the time the 2026 World Cup comes around and knows this might be his one chance to represent England on the biggest stage.

Southgate will submit his final 26-man squad to UEFA on Friday and could tell some of those who have not made the cut before England kick-off against Iceland.