BRENTFORD striker Ivan Toney responded to his World Cup heartbreak by scoring a BRACE against Manchester City.
Toney was snubbed by England manager Gareth Southgate for the 26-man squad.
Southgate instead opted for Newcastle striker Callum Wilson to deputise star man Harry Kane in Qatar.
And Toney appears to have sent a message to the Three Lions gaffer by scoring a brace against the Premier League champions and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration.
Toney’s goals at the Etihad was his eleventh across all competitions.
That’s five more than Wilson, who pipped him to a World Cup spot.
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One fan said on Twitter: “England have made a mistake not selecting Ivan Toney for the World Cup.”
Another said: “Some unflattering chants and time-honoured gestures of disapproval for England manager Gareth Southgate from Brentford’s fans, very obviously because of his decision to leave Ivan Toney out of England’s World Cup squad.”
A third tweeted: “No World Cup, no problem for Ivan Toney.”
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Southgate cited form as to why Tammy Abraham, in particular, was snubbed.
But that wouldn’t apply to Toney – whose celebration may simply have been to Man City fans – who has nine Prem strikes in 14 games.
Southgate said on the day of his Three Lions World Cup squad announcement: “Tammy has had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time.
“It is not a case where we are three or four weeks away from the first match, we are now 10 days, so form could be more important.
“We are watching their club form but we don’t know where they are until we see them face to face.
“You still don’t get the full picture until you work with them and see how they train with each other.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
