- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Will there be a ‘eureka moment’ in England and will it stop muddling through?
- Footage has emerged of Ivan Toney scoring a stunning volley during training
- Piers Morgan believes he should start against the Netherlands on Wednesday
Piers Morgan has called up Ivan Toney to start in England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday after footage emerged of the striker scoring a stunning volley in training.
Toney has only made two substitute appearances for Germany this summer but has had a major impact on both occasions, providing an assist against Slovakia and scoring a no-look penalty in England’s shoot-out win over Switzerland on Saturday.
The Brentford forward has looked confident in games and he also appears to be at his best in training. England’s official X account posted a clip on Tuesday morning of him latching onto a clip from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before firing an unstoppable volley past Aaron Ramsdale.
The ball flew into the net and was so good that he even earned a congratulatory pat on the leg from Joe Gomez. The Liverpool defender wasn’t the only one impressed, as Morgan insisted the in-form Toney deserves a starting place against the Dutch, even urging Arsenal to sign him this summer.
‘What a finish… Toney should start on Wednesday… (and Arsenal should sign him!),’ the Gunners superfan wrote on X.
Ivan Toney scored a stunning volley during England training ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final
His incredible strike earned the approval of England and Liverpool defender Joe Gomez
Toney has only made two substitute appearances at Euro 2024, but Piers Morgan and other England fans believe he should start in the semi-finals
Other fans agreed, with one adding: ‘Toney should start tomorrow’.
If Toney is indeed selected, it is likely to mean captain Harry Kane will be out of the running after a disappointing tournament so far.
Kane scored twice in five games for England, but at times he seemed to be underperforming, with calls for him to be sent off.
It would be a huge decision if Gareth Southgate were to bench his talisman, but one supporter believes Toney is more than capable of holding his own.
“Start my man. He’s ready,” they said.
The call for Toney to start is only growing as the semi-final approaches, but some fans were more impressed by his goal than by whether he would play on Wednesday.
“No Toney, that’s SCANDALOUS,” one fan posted.
Another simply wrote: ‘What a strike that is’.
Toney pushes ahead of Harry Kane as England captain not yet in top form in Germany
Toney has been in the spotlight since his penalty against Switzerland last weekend. He can’t take his eyes off goalkeeper Yann Sommer and fires his shot into the corner.
He reminded his fans afterwards that he always does this when taking penalties, but it was still a surreal moment to see him do it under immense pressure.
England posted footage of Toney on Monday showing him trying out a number of other activities without looking, including playing Connect Four and darts.
After his heroics on Saturday he has been dubbed ‘the coolest man on the planet’ by fans and Southgate now faces a tough decision over who will start up front for England as they bid to reach the European Championship final for a second successive time.