Toney: 'We sensed there would be one more chance'
Match report: England 2-1 Slovakia
Ivan Toney says he could sense that all was not lost despite England trailing 1-0 with two minutes to play when he came on as a substitute against Slovakia at EURO 2024.
The Three Lions immediately equalised through a memorable Jude Bellingham strike and Toney went on to assist the winner for Harry Kane in the opening moments of extra time.
Having made an impact off the bench, the Brentford striker reflected on the turnaround during Monday's episode of Lions' Den connected by EE.
He said: "I mainly feel relief. We knew we were scrambling towards the end so you need something to get back in the game. Jude coming up and putting that in the net in that moment is crazy. You see the emotions, everyone off the bench, everyone altogether, and it's the best feeling. From there we had the momentum to finish it off and get over the line.
Kane and Toney on Lions' Den
Harry Kane and Ivan Toney discuss Sunday's win over Slovakia on Lions' Den
"It shows the character in the team. We've all been in similar situations, maybe not as high as this one, but you stay in there and we could all sniff there was going to be another opportunity. We sensed there would be one more. It's fallen to Jude and he did his thing.
"In the dying moments as a sub you're wondering when your chance is going to come. You have to be ready, you don't know what's going to happen, it can change and going into extra time the momentum was on our side. We had players to change the game and we did it."
The striker's assist for Kane's goal was the kind of impact he was desperate to make – and he revealed that the move was far from a fluke.
Toney said: "I said to H [Harry Kane] that I'm going to move to the back post from crosses and knock it back across, so be there. I knew he'd put everything into it and I think he nearly went into the goal with it. Striker's instinct is to be there at the right time.
"Moments like that are the best. We know everyone is behind us, we're doing our best to do what we can. Watching all the reactions and hearing all the support from home, it just shows that everyone is behind us."