Gareth Southgate defiant on Ivan Toney’s England call-up amid betting probe

gareth south gate handed Ivan Toney in-form a call-up to the England squad despite the Brentford star’s impending hearing on gambling offences.

The England boss dropped Trent Alexander-Arnold from his post-World Cup first team, but Kyle Walker was selected despite being investigated by police over an incident at a Manchester pub.

Raheem Sterling was skipped due to a hamstring problem. Southgate said he would have selected the Chelsea man if he had been fit.

Southgate does not believe Toney’s FA disciplinary hearing for betting offenses should prevent the striker, who has scored 17 goals for Brentford this season, from being called up.

Toney has admitted to some, but not all, of the 262 charges brought against him by the FA.

Gareth Southgate (left) praised the resilience of Ivan Toney (right) amid an FA investigation

Southgate said: ‘The fact is that he is playing for his club. There hasn’t been a trial or any trial at all, so I don’t know on what basis we wouldn’t pick it.

‘Ivan has been consistent throughout the season. I also like his sense of faith on the field.

“I saw him at Arsenal and he went into that field thinking he would wreak havoc that day. That’s a good sign, that’s what you need if you’re going to play for your country.’

Alexander-Arnold’s exclusion was perhaps the biggest call, but it came as no surprise given his difficult season with Liverpool, who are well below pace in the Premier League.

Southgate said: “I have always communicated clearly with all the players about what we think their strengths are and where we think they could improve.”

“In the past, maybe we took more players on the right back, but this is the time of the season where you don’t want to take too many if they’re not going to play.” They are also here to have a rest.

‘I’m not going to get into a coaching conversation about all the players who haven’t made the team. They know the reasons why, we always clear that up.’

On the inclusion of Walker, Southgate added: “It’s a tricky situation, I’ve talked to him a lot.

‘There is no conclusive evidence to rule it out at this stage. I have to be careful to be the moral judge of things. We feel that we want him with us and it is the right thing to do.

‘When you’re an England player, there’s an even higher bar for how you carry yourself. We are not making decisions lightly.

Southgate insisted Ben White, who is not in the squad, is still in contention after the Arsenal right-back left the World Cup squad for “personal reasons”.

Southgate said he saw no reason not to pick Toney, despite the striker pleading guilty to some of the FA’s 262 betting rule infringements.

Chelsea defensive pairing Reece James and Ben Chilwell return after missing the tournament in Qatar through injury. Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi is back while Everton’s Conor Coady is out of it, perhaps ending his England career. Tottenham’s Eric Dier keeps his place despite an indifferent season.

England take on Italy on Thursday before hosting Ukraine at Wembley one week on Sunday when the team’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign kicks off.

Added Southgate: “I think we can (win the Euro). That’s the challenge. I don’t think the players need more proof than is possible. They’ve played in all but one of the biggest games in world football (Cup final). They’ve had results against most of the top teams, but we need to do it more consistently.

‘The scenario of going to Italy, where we haven’t won in decades, is a classic type of game that we have to start winning. If we’re looking for the next step to take as a team, this is it.’