England coach Gareth Southgate is ready to take a punt on Ivan Toney to lead his attack against Belgium tonight in captain Harry Kane’s absence.
With the Three Lions’ record goalscorer out due to injury, Southgate is tipping the in-form Bees forward to make the most of his first start for the national team in Tuesday's 9.45pm friendly at Wembley.
Toney, who has one cap for England as a substitute, is aiming to make his mark in the run-up to Euro 2024.
The 28-year-old Toney has netted goals in 10 games for Brentford since his return to action in January after serving an eight-month suspension for breaching FA betting rules.
Toney was left on the bench during Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Brazil, with Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins playing the full 90 minutes.
And now Southgate is ready to put all his chips on Toney.
The boss tells reporters: “I think sometimes the quality of [Toney’s] football can be under-estimated.
“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.
“But with England that's the landscape, you don’t get hundreds of opportunities. 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. Confidence is crucial. That swagger, that self‑belief. All of the top forward players have it.
"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.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Harry Maguire became the latest England star to be ruled out due to injury, joining Kane, Bukayo Saka and Kyle Walker.
Tonight’s elected friendlies
Ivory Coast v Uruguay (9.30pm), Germany v Netherlands, Slovenia v Portugal, Spain v Brazil (all (9.45pm)
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