In an interview with GOAL Front Three content creators Yarns and HD Cutz on the LineUp, England striker Ivan Toney, who was selected for Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, was asked to remain silent until he heard a name he considered a better penalty taker than himself.

Toney confidently listed Aleksandar Mitrovic, Bruno Fernandes, Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, and Mario Balotelli without hesitation. However, he finally acknowledged Yaya Toure when the former Manchester City midfielder’s name was mentioned.

Given Toney’s impressive record of scoring 28 out of 30 career penalties, his confidence is justified. Nevertheless, he admires Toure’s prowess from the spot, noting the Ivorian retired with a perfect Premier League penalty record, converting all 11 of his attempts. Toney told GOAL, “Yaya Toure is cold. I don’t think he’s missed. He scored 29 in a row or something like that. I missed that one [against Newcastle in 2023] to make it level.”

Toney also spoke about some of the toughest defenders he has faced in the Premier League, highlighting West Ham’s Kurt Zouma and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate. “Zouma, them kind of centre-backs, are scary. I remember I played against him and went up for a header, he jumped so high he basically kicked me on my shoulder. I feel like I jumped quite high but he just jumped some silly height. After that I just thought ‘I’ll go on the other side’. Konate, he’s aggressive. [Lisandro] Martinez as well.” he said.

When asked to choose in a ‘start, bench, sell’ scenario involving Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, and Luis Suarez, Toney shared his picks: “I’ve not watched R9 live, I’ve not seen his games. I’ve seen clips and we’re just going off what we’ve been told and what we’ve seen.”

“Defenders [from back] then are different to now. I’d start R9. Henry’s a cultured footballer. I’ve seen a bit of him so I can probably say bench him, and Suarez, he’s got to go. Even though he’s cold.”

Regarding other top forward players, Toney added,

“I’d say [Dimitar] Berbatov. First touch… no one’s got a better touch than him. Probably [Riyad] Mahrez but other than Mahrez there’s no one else that’s got a better touch.”

Ivan Toney

This season he played in total 17 times for 1449 minutes for Premier League.

Ivan Toney scored 4 goals for Brentford. He procured two assists. He received 5 yellow cards and no red cards.

His team is currently 16th in Premier League. In the last match Brentford lost 4-2 against Newcastle United.

Brentford performance and stats

Brentford is currently 16th in the Premier League with 39 points.

In the last 38 games, it has won 9 times, drawn 10 times, and lost 19 times. In its last match, Brentford lost 2-4 against Newcastle United.​​

It has a negative goal difference after scoring 54 goals and conceding 61.​

Lionel Messi

This season he played in total 12 times for 1034 minutes for Major League Soccer.

Lionel Messi scored 12 goals for Inter Miami. He procured 10 assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.

His team is currently 1st in Major League Soccer. In the last match Inter Miami won 2-1 against Philadelphia Union.

Inter Miami performance and stats

Inter Miami is currently 1st in the Major League Soccer with 27 points.

In the last 19 games, it has won 11 times, drawn 5 times, and lost 3 times. In its last match, Inter Miami won 1-2 against Philadelphia Union.​​

It has a positive goal difference after scoring 35 goals and conceding 20.​