Ivan Toney has said recent cases of England players suffering racist abuse would not deter him from taking a penalty if necessary at Euro 2024.
Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were targeted for manhunt after missing spot-kicks in England's Euro 2020 shootout loss to Italy at Wembley. Eleven people were subsequently arrested.
Manager Gareth Southgate admitted in June 2022 that considering the potential repercussions for black players added “another layer of difficulty” to the task of improving England’s dire record in penalty shoot-outs.
The Three Lions have exited seven tournaments following shoot-out defeats, while captain Harry Kane missed a penalty in the dying moments of normal time as England lost 2-1 at the quarter-final stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Toney has scored 31 of his last 32 penalties for Brentford and when asked on Wednesday whether the experiences of Saka, Rashford and Sancho would make him lose his head about taking a spot-kick if necessary, he said: “I'm a confident person. If I score, I score. If I miss, I miss. We have to step up and have the courage to take a penalty. Whatever is meant to be, is meant to be. For those who racially abuse a player for missing a penalty or doing something wrong, they're even more foolish.”
“Believe [that confidence] “Trust is in you, in the people around you. The manager places his trust in you. In everyone around you, actually.”
The Press Association reported on Saturday that the UK Football Policing Unit has received almost 600 reports of online abuse towards England players since Euro 2024 began.
Toney is also no stranger to suffering online abuse. In March 2023, a man was given a three-year national ban for racially abusing Toney and in February this year, Brentford condemned another “vile harassment” that the 28-year-old suffered twice in the space of four weeks.
All 26 players took part in Wednesday's training session ahead of Saturday's quarter-final against Switzerland in Dusseldorf, with Luke Shaw pushing to be available as he continues to recover from the hamstring problem that has sidelined him since February.
A source told ESPN that England have experimented with a three-man defence in training, but it remains unclear whether Southgate will change the 4-2-3-1 system used in their first four games.
