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.”
Martino resigns as Inter Miami coach after early playoff exit
Gerardo Martino has resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons, the MLS side have confirmed.
The Argentine ends his 17-month stint in charge of the Herons following their MLS Cup exit just under a fortnight ago.
Martino, who oversaw Miami's Leagues Cup triumph soon after his arrival last season, guided the franchise to this year's Supporters' Shield with a regular-season record tally of 74 points.
However, they were eliminated by his former side Atlanta United in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Miami opened their best-of-three series against Atlanta with a 2-1 win, only to lose by the same scoreline in Game 2 before falling to a dramatic 3-2 defeat in the decider.
“It has been an honour to work at such a special club, and to lead such a special team," Martino said.
"I’ve enjoyed my stay at Inter Miami and will treasure the memories made and relationships forged here for the rest of my life.
"I depart with nothing but gratitude for my time here and would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone that made it possible."
Fonseca: Milan have 'respect' but 'are not afraid' of Juventus
Paulo Fonseca said Milan have plenty of "respect" for Juventus, but his side "are not afraid" of their rivals ahead of their Serie A clash on Saturday.
After a slow start to the season, Milan are six points adrift of Juventus in the table, but only a place behind them, as they aim to make up the ground on the top six.
The Rossoneri have played a game less than Thiago Motta's side, and could catapult themselves back into the Scudetto picture with a win this weekend.
Milan return to the San Siro for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Napoli at the end of October, and could register two consecutive home defeats in Serie A for the first time since between October and November in 2023.
"It is not decisive, but it is important, like all of them," Fonseca told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
"I can't say that the game against Juve is more important than the next one against Empoli because we need consecutive victories.
"It's a different game, but I always think positively. We are Milan, we have a lot of respect for the 'Bianconeri', but we are not afraid. We are here ready to win."
A boost for Milan is that Juventus will be without top scorer Dusan Vlahovic for Saturday's clash after returning from international duty with a muscle problem.
Despite the Serbian's absence, Fonseca was aware of the danger his probable replacement, Timothy Weah, would pose, having managed him during his time at Lille.
"Juve knows how to adapt very well. I don't know if Weah will play," Fonseca said.
"Weah is very fast and attacks deep, not like Vlahovic. It will not be the same thing of course.
"We will have to pay attention to movements in depth and less to support work, because he is a player who does less of this job."
While Fonseca has endured a stuttering start to his tenure at the San Siro, Milan have shown they have the ability to match the very best.
They beat rivals Inter in October before stunning Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last Champions League encounter, keeping their play-off hopes alive.
"I believe it's a matter of motivation and not pressure," Fonseca said.
"Against Inter, Juve and Real it is easy to be motivated, it's more difficult to go to Cagliari and have the same motivation.
"Pressure is always with us, every day. If we don't want to have pressure, then we shouldn't be here."
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
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