England manager Thomas Tuchel meets with Ivan Toney and hands the former Brentford striker a new role at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ivan Toney named in England’s World Cup squad (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he has held transparent talks with Ivan Toney and has now placed the striker on a “special operations” mission.
Tuchel admitted that Toney’s “level of commitment and training” was not high enough when he last joined the England squad 12 months ago. Three Lions manager Tuchel said he brought Toney back into the squad after England’s last training camp in March to give the squad something special at this summer’s World Cup.
Toney, 30, is probably the biggest headliner in the 26-man squad as he currently plays in the Saudi Professional League and has put his England career on hold. But Tuchel believes he can be a super sub in England, one of the key finishers in the United States’ scorching conditions, and a valuable penalty specialist in the shootout.
read more: Inside Ivan Toney’s stunning career comeback as former Brentford player returns to Englandread more: Manager Thomas Tuchel makes controversial remarks, including full participation in England’s World Cup squad
“Ivan is part of the special teams in this case, as part of the special operations team. He knows that, that’s his role, and off the pitch he’s like the glue. He’s someone who connects very well with everyone, so we go,” Tuchel said. It took a while, and it wasn’t until the last few weeks that we started talking about selection in depth.
“I wasn’t happy with camp in June. He knows that. And after that, we had to clear the air. That was the first step to start thinking about bringing him back, because I wasn’t happy. It wasn’t about his character. He wasn’t about his character.”The level of training and the level of effort was not what we wanted.
“We are trying to build a strong set-piece team, where he can play a role both defensively and in attack, and he is a world-class penalty taker. He suddenly ticks a lot of boxes. We inevitably talked to him again and made it clear whether he was happy to come. “And after talking to him again and getting good feedback, very good feedback from the club coaches, and after getting good feedback from the Euros in Germany, we decided to reopen the doors and invite him.”
Tuchel did not travel to Saudi Arabia to watch the game, but Justin Coquelin has confirmed that he did go to watch Matthias Jaisul’s Al Ahly side play. Tuchel happens to know Jaisul, who he spent several days with in Germany. Toney played in the Euros in 2024, but it looked like he had bid farewell to his England career when he went to the Saudi Professional League.
However, Tuchel wants three strikers in his squad and after Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dom Solanke failed their England squad auditions in March, England were back to square one in search of Tony. Harry Kane was always guaranteed to start, with Ollie Watkins also included, and while Tuchel praised the Aston Villa striker’s response to his removal in March, Toney’s return and England’s recovery is even more noteworthy.
“We started talking more deeply about the team, talking about different scenarios and who is the most attacking member if we lose 1-0 with 15 minutes left and we need a goal in 10 minutes plus extra time. We are pushing,” Tuchel said. We’re around the box. The ball flies into the box. What is a scenario? Then his name comes up all the time. Because it has a strong presence.
“Harry loves playing with him because he thinks he distracts him. He’s an even more traditional No. 9 than Harry himself. So is he the player you want to drop the ball on if there’s a bounce in the box? Yes, of course he does.” Does he distract the other strikers with his presence? yes. “
The team’s other full left winger is Jed Spence. He has struggled to feature for Tottenham this season, falling out of form and suffering a broken jaw this week after a collision with Chelsea’s Liam Delap. Spence is in because he can play on either flank, and there must be concerns about the fitness of Reece James and Tino Libramento, who have missed large parts of this season through injury.
Tuchel said: “First of all, he has been great in every game he has played for us. “He’s part of the situation. I’m talking now. He’s part of the situation. I’m talking now. He’s part of the situation. He’s part of the situation. I’m talking now.” He brings something to the group that we don’t have in our profile. I think he likes defense. He is the fastest player on our team.
Jed Spence and Liam Delap clash (Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
“He loves defending one-on-one. That’s just the trait that makes him an outstanding full-back for us. He’s a bit of a special full-back for us. He can be top of either team with his play.”We said we were a bit worried about what was going on at the club. I don’t know the minutes. If I come here in March, I will have to prove myself once again.
“He honestly did that because both of our full-backs, Tino and Jed, were really good. He believed in them and they brought something to the group.”
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