Comparing Ivan Toney’s 22-23 stats to England’s potential WC strikers | OneFootball

Brentford’s Ivan Toney has made an excellent start to the 2022-23 season but will it be enough for Gareth Southgate to select him in England’s World Cup squad? We’ve compared his league numbers to answer that very question…

Toney took his tally to eight goals for the season with a clinical double against Brighton. The 26-year-old was called up to the England squad for the recent Nations League games against Italy and Germany but didn’t make an appearance.

But Southgate couldn’t have failed to be impressed with the Brentford striker’s continued run of good form which has coincided with the build-up to the biggest tournament of them all.

“I’m ready to go,” Toney said after his Brighton brace. “Everyone’s talking about England. I was disappointed not to get on last time but you’ve got to keep working. I just keep doing what I do best – score goals and do well for the team.

“With England you are playing with the best of the best. Without being big-headed I didn’t feel out of place. I felt I was ready for that step and whenever it comes along, I’m ready.

“I’m just trying to do the best I can for the team and if it’s enough to get on the plane to the World Cup then so be it. All I can do is do my job and then hopefully it is enough. If I get to the World Cup then hopefully I’ll get some minutes there.”

“It’s up to Gareth to choose, but Ivan has something special not many have,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank added. “It would be a big thing if he got the first cap, that would be amazing. It would be the first time in 80 years for this club.

“I am biased but I think he is a perfect fit for the squad if you want that flexibility for the squad.”

Sky Sports double-act Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, meanwhile, were full of praise for Toney after the Brighton game, with Neville suggesting he would be a good Plan B for the World Cup.

Neville said: ‘They’ve got a lot of players England that can play either side of Harry Kane, but they don’t have a lot of centre-forwards. We’re talking about an area of the team that isn’t the most blessed.

“I think Ivan Toney is someone who if he can keep in form in the next couple of weeks, he will be in with a great chance of going.”

We’ve done some number crunching to see how Toney stacks up against his direct competitors for a plane ticket to Qatar. Gareth, you’re welcome…

Goals Harry Kane – 9 Ivan Toney – 8 Marcus Rashford – 3 Tammy Abraham – 2 Ollie Watkins – 1 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 0

Assists Ivan Toney – 2 Marcus Rashford – 2 Ollie Watkins – 2 Tammy Abraham – 1 Harry Kane – 1 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 0

Minutes per goal Harry Kane – 98.7 Ivan Toney – 112.5 Marcus Rashford – 230.0 Tammy Abraham – 355.5 Ollie Watkins – 834.0 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – N/A

Minutes per goal or assist Harry Kane – 88.9 Ivan Toney – 90.0 Marcus Rashford – 138.0 Tammy Abraham – 237.0 Ollie Watkins – 278.0 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – N/A

Chances created per 90 minutes Harry Kane – 2.0 Tammy Abraham – 1.5 Ivan Toney – 1.3 Marcus Rashford – 1.2 Ollie Watkins – 0.8 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 0

Successful dribbles per 90 minutes (success rate) Marcus Rashford – 1.7 (54.8%)Tammy Abraham – 0.8 (30.9%) Harry Kane – 0.8 (28.6%) Ivan Toney – 0.4 (28.6%) Ollie Watkins – 0.3 (23.1%) Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 0

Passes per 90 minutes (passing accuracy) Marcus Rashford – 23.7 (74.7%) Harry Kane – 22.6 (75.2%) Ivan Toney – 20.8 (66.8%) Ollie Watkins – 20.1 (72.1%) Tammy Abraham – 17.1 (72.5%) Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 14.2 (66.9%)

Shots per 90 minutes (inside penalty area) Harry Kane – 3.9 (3) Tammy Abraham – 3.4 (3.1) Ivan Toney – 2.7 (2.2) Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 2.4 (2.4) Marcus Rashford – 2.3 (1.6) Ollie Watkins – 1.9 (1.9)