England coach Gareth Southgate has announced his selection for the start of the European Championship qualification. Ivan Toney can hope for a debut for The Three Lions.
Southgate gives much-discussed Toney a chance
26-year-old Toney was also called up in September, but he was not used against Germany or Italy. A new invitation was the subject of discussion. The Brentford attacker is second on the Premier League top scorers list with sixteen hits. However, the gambling charge was seen as a possible obstacle to a new appeal.
Southgate has made his ideas clear with his selection. “The case has not yet come to trial and no ruling has been made yet. So there is no reason not to select him. Ivan has been doing well all season. He plays really well. I’ve seen him against Arsenal. In that game he was excellent and that is why he deserves a chance,” he revealed.
The summoned Kyle Walker is also the subject of a police investigation. “I talked to him for a long time. The current situation is that he plays with his club. There is no conclusive evidence yet. I’m careful with moral judgement. The bar is higher for internationals. We did not take this decision overnight,” the manager concluded.
England will play against Italy in Naples on March 23, before continuing the European Championship qualification at Wembley against Ukraine three days later.
Deschamps clear about Benzema: “Not another word from me”
The first topic during the press conference about the new French squad was a player who has not been called up. National coach Didier Deschamps did not say much words on the controversy with Karim Benzema.
A new game of mud throwing is not spent on Deschamps. The French national coach was dismissed as a ‘liar’ by Benzema last week. But he is not tempted into a provocative reaction towards the Real Madrid striker.
“I recently spoke out about what happened,” Deschamps referred to an earlier interview with Le Parisien. “As far as I am concerned, the case is closed. I don’t have to respond to anything yet. I say no more about it, I took the floor to tell what happened and now it’s over. For me, the most important thing is what lies ahead with these two games and with the 23 players you know today.”
