Ivan Toney spoke candidly about his unique penalty routine after scoring in England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland on Saturday night.
Toney converted England’s fourth penalty, after Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo had all scored before him, and kept his composure.
The Brentford striker kept his eye on Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer throughout. Although the keeper guessed correctly, Toney’s effort flew wide of his desperate dive and into the bottom corner.
After the match, Toney told reporters about his decision to focus on Sommer instead of the ball: ‘I just do what I always do… I step up and roll the ball into the net.
“I never look at the ball. People might think it’s strange, but it’s my routine.”
Ivan Toney couldn’t take his eyes off the goalkeeper as he scored his penalty against Switzerland
Toney fired his penalty into the bottom corner without even looking at the ball
The 28-year-old denied feeling any pressure and certainly didn’t appear nervous as fans praised his composure.
“Toney is the coolest man on the planet. Bro is a badass,” wrote one X user.
Another noted: ‘Ivan Toney didn’t even look at the ball. He just stared at the keeper.’
Toney is regarded as one of the best penalty takers in the Premier League and it was no surprise when he was brought on to take a penalty in extra time.
He replaced Harry Kane after the England captain suffered a heavy fall near the dugout and was forced to leave the field.
Normally, Kane would have taken a penalty if he were still on the pitch. His absence could have been embarrassing for England, but the players responded well to the loss of their captain.
After Toney had brought England to the brink of victory, it was up to Trent Alexander-Arnold to fire the ball into the corner of the net with great precision and guide his team into the semi-finals.
Toney has only made two substitute appearances at the tournament this summer, but has made a big impact both times.
He assisted Kane’s winning goal against Slovakia in the round of 16 and then converted the penalty on Saturday, proving himself a reliable option as a substitute for Gareth Southgate.