England manager Gareth Southgate hopes Ivan Toney will grab his big chance to prove his Euro 2024 credentials against Belgium.
The place as Harry Kane’s back-up in Germany is up for grabs after Dominic Calvert-Lewin filled that role at the last Euros and then Callum Wilson did at the World Cup 15 months ago.
This time it looks a straight shootout between Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins and Brentford’s Toney, with the former playing the full 90 minutes as he won his 10th cap against Brazil.
Toney watched Saturday’s 1-0 loss from the bench and will get his chance against Belgium on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old’s only cap to date came as a substitute against Ukraine this time last year and he is looking to make up for lost time having returned from an eight-month Football Association betting ban in January.
Asked how big an opportunity Tuesday could be for Toney, Southgate said: “You can’t hide that fact. He knows.
“It would be his first start, so you’ve got to bear that in mind as well.
“But with England that’s the landscape, you don’t get hundreds of opportunities. I think every player recognises that’s the world we live in.
View this post on Instagram“But he’s a confident guy, he comes in on the back of a good run of form with his club. He’s going to be on the field on Tuesday, no question.”Southgate says Toney’s quality from the penalty spot is “definitely a great asset to have”, as well as highlighting his confidence and sometimes underappreciated all-round game.
“That swagger, that self-belief is crucial – all of the top forward players have it,” the England boss said.
“I think sometimes the quality of his football can be underestimated.
“His passing, his link play. We’re still getting to know all of those strengths because until you work with a player more regularly you don’t know them inside out.
“You look at him being a big guy but he’s not just a target man. His quality in link play is very good as well.”
Toney’s opportunity comes as Southgate joked he is “looking at who’s left” to face Belgium, with Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Sam Johnstone following Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka in withdrawing from the squad.
The England boss also has to manage minutes in what has ended up being a “bizarre camp” for the Wembley friendlies against the sides fifth and fourth in FIFA’s world rankings.
Southgate would have loved the chance to see Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield against such high-calibre opponents, but a knee injury meant he instead watched Saturday’s loss from the stands.
“He wanted to come to the game,” the England boss said. “He’s obviously in the latter stage of rehab with Liverpool so it wasn’t quite as easy for him to dip in like Luke Shaw did (to St George’s Park last week).
“The midfield thing we’ve seen, but we’ve missed two opportunities with September and now this one that is really frustrating because there’s so much that’s unknown about it at the minute.
“As you know, I’ve liked the idea for a long time but we’re going to be trialling it when we haven’t seen it in a really high level game. So we’ll just have to see where we can go with it.”
Southgate has all manner of headaches to balance before naming his provisional Euro 2024 squad just after the end of the Premier League season.
Jude Bellingham is sure to be one of the first names on the list if fit – but that is easier said than done if the Real Madrid star continues to get fouled as much as he did against Brazil.
“He is a top player and they’re an aggressive side,” Southgate said. “In a competitive game there would have been more cards than there were tonight so that would have curbed that. But that’s a good experience for him to have to go through.
“I thought he handled it well tonight. He’s ended up getting a yellow card that could have been the other way several times.
“The bigger thing tonight was that he was cramping up. He’s missed a lot of football recently so physically he’s still getting back to that top level.”
Dyche demands 'maximum effort' as the minimum requirement from Everton
Sean Dyche is demanding maximum effort as the minimum requirement from Everton when they host already relegated Sheffield United this weekend.
Despite another nervy season at Goodison Park, during which they were deducted six points following a breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, the Toffees have secured their top-flight status for another year at least.
Everton are enjoying a strong end to the campaign with last weekend's 1-1 draw at Luton Town extending their unbeaten run to four matches, and Dyche is not expecting his players to rest on their laurels.
"I want us to perform and at least give everything, as we did at Luton," he said.
"You can’t always guarantee you are brilliant. But you can guarantee you give everything, and that was on show again this past weekend.
"The minimum requirement is maximum effort. It hasn’t changed, we want to take that into Goodison and hope we play a little bit better with the ball, and hopefully score some more goals."
Dyche also saluted the impact of the younger members of his squad, with eight players aged 25 or under appearing 10 or more times during a testing season.
"There are a lot of challenges for these players," he added. "But they are beginning to come together as a group, and we have seen that. It has rewarded us, of course, and the fans."
However, their opponents' focus is already on next season, with their immediate return to the Championship confirmed.
In an English top-flight campaign of 38 games or less, only Darwen (112 in 1891-92) and Leicester City (102 in 1908-09) have conceded more goals than the Blades (100).
Chris Wilder knows there is plenty of work to do in United's quest to bounce straight back into the Premier League, but believes the close season will allow him the opportunity to get them in the best shape possible.
"I'll have time to put my own stamp on it," he said. "I'll have time to sign players that I know are going to be good and have a strong enough mentality to do it.
“Defensively and from set-plays and everything else, there's an incredible amount of work to do. We can't do that at the moment because it's difficult, but we will do it, and we'll get it right in terms of those aspects of the game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jordan Pickford
The Everton goalkeeper has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season – including one in each of the Toffees’ last four home games – with only Arsenal’s David Raya recording more (15)
It is Pickford’s second-highest tally of shutouts in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton
Despite only joining the club in January, the Chile international has scored the most Premier League goals for the Blades this season (six).
Brereton’s rate of a goal every 158 in the second-best by a United player in a single campaign (minimum 500 minutes) after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (a goal every 145 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON
Everton have responded to their 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last month by embarking on a four-match unbeaten streak (winning three, drawing one).
By contrast, United have lost each of their last five games, and are only the second side in Premier League history to concede 100 or more goals during a single campaign after Swindon Town in 1993-94.
While the Toffees have lost their final home league match in just one of the last eight seasons (winning six, drawing one), the Blades have lost their final away game in each of their last four Premier League campaigns.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton: 54.1%
Sheffield United: 19.3%
Draw: 26.6%
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
Ronaldo delivers another hat-trick as Al Nassr ease past Al Wedha
Cristiano Ronaldo crafted a decisive hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Wedha 6-0 in Saturday's Saudi Pro League meeting.
Portugal veteran Ronaldo found the net twice in the first 12 minutes at Al Awal Park before completing his treble after the interval.
Sadio Mane teed up Ronaldo's third finish, as well as an 18th-minute strike from Otavio, who returned the favour for the Senegal international to score on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Al Fatil added a late sixth as Al Nassr recorded their seventh straight league win since their March 7 loss against Al Raed, moving them back within nine points of leaders Al Hilal.
Jorge Jesus's Al Hilal swept Al Tauwoon aside in a 3-0 away triumph on Friday for their fourth straight victory across all competitions.
Talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Alsherhi wrapped up a win that kept Al Hilal in charge of the title race.
There was no such fortune for fifth-placed Al Ittihad as they fell to a third straight defeat in all competitions after a 3-1 loss away against Abha.
Jota levelled after Grzegorz Krychowiak's 57th-minute penalty, only for Hassan Al-Ali and Fabian Noguera to power hosts Abha to a comfortable win.
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