Toney never in doubt over England return despite Saudi Arabia move

Ivan Toney says he never doubted his chances of returning to the England squad, despite making the move to the Saudi Pro League last year.

The Al Ahli striker has been called up by Gareth Southgate ahead of the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifier against Andorra this Saturday.

The 29-year-old is back in the national team setup for the first time since England’s loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final last July.

Toney had been absent from international football after serving an eight-month suspension in 2023 for breaching betting regulations.

Following his departure from Brentford last summer, Toney signed for Saudi club Al Ahli and quickly found his form, netting 30 goals in 44 matches across all competitions.

When asked on Wednesday during England’s training camp in Girona whether the switch to Saudi Arabia had put his international career at risk, the forward replied:  “No.

🗣 "It's tough, it's not easy!"

England's Ivan Toney says criticism of the Saudi Pro League is unfair.#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/2I6QLwjFTR

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 5, 2025

“You see with me I think if you’re just doing the right thing, playing football, playing well and scoring goals – a striker’s job, that’s what you’re in a team to do – it doesn’t matter where you play in the world, I feel like you should still get the chance.

“I think it’s been proven me being me being back here and being back amongst the boys. It feels good to see the faces again and it feels good to get stuck in.”

Toney’s prolific output in Saudi Arabia was hard to ignore. Only Cristiano Ronaldo outscored him in the league during the 2024-25 campaign, with Toney’s 23 goals edging out big names like Karim Benzema (21) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (19).

“I feel like I’m in good form. As you see, I’m here, I’m still scoring goals,” Toney added.

“So, hopefully I can keep doing that and be in the mix for the World Cup.”

England face Andorra in Spain on Saturday, before taking on Senegal in a friendly at Wembley on June 10.

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