Fans hail ‘coolest man on the planet’ Ivan Toney after scoring penalty

Ivan Toney has opened up about his unique penalty routine after scoring in England’s shootout win over Switzerland on Saturday night.

Toney took England’s fourth penalty after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo had all scored before him, and he kept his nerve. 

The Brentford striker kept his eyes on Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer the whole time, and even though the shot-stopper guessed the right way, Toney’s effort flew past his despairing dive into the bottom corner.

Speaking after the game about his decision to focus on Sommer rather than the ball, Toney told reporters: ‘I just do what I always do… step up and roll it into the net.

‘I never look at the ball. People might think it’s strange but it’s my routine.’

Ivan Toney didn’t take his eyes off the goalkeeper as he scored his penalty against Switzerland

Toney fired his penalty into the bottom corner without looking at the ball once

The 28-year-old also denied feeling any pressure and he certainly didn’t seem to be suffering from nerves as fans hailed his composure. 

‘Toney is the coolest man on the planet. Bro is a villain,’ one X user wrote.

Another noted: ‘Ivan Toney didn’t even look at the ball. He just stared the keeper down.’

Toney is viewed as one of the best penalty takers in the Premier League and it was no surprise that he was brought on in extra time to take one.

He replaced Harry Kane after the England captain took a heavy fall near the dugout and had to limp off.

Kane would normally take a penalty if he was still on the pitch, and his absence could have unsettled England but the players responded well to losing their captain.

After Toney had put England on the brink of victory, it was left to Trent Alexander-Arnold to emphatically fire into the corner of the net and send his side into the semi-finals.

Toney has only made two substitute appearances at this summer’s tournament, but has made a big impact on both occasions.

He assisted Kane’s winning goal against Slovakia in the last-16, and then netted his penalty on Saturday, proving himself as a reliable option off the bench for Gareth Southgate.

Toney didn’t even look at the ball!

Analysis by Danny Murphy 

It takes so much courage to continue looking at the goalkeeper rather than the ball even when you strike it because if it goes wrong and there’s a mis-kick with your strike, you’re done. I practised it but never took it into a match. 

Somehow, Toney has the confidence to do it and I love it. The last one I remember that was similar was Eric Cantona.