Hands on hips, Ivan Toney stood on the sidelines staring down the barrel of Euro 2024 heartbreak last Sunday in Gelsenkirchen, with England 1-0 down to Slovakia in the last-16.

Yet, what appeared to be the final throes of a tournament passing the Three Lions' no.17 by, may have in fact marked the start of a special chapter for the Brentford forward.

A goal down and with just over a minute of added time left on the clock, Toney wasn't necessarily delighted - by Gareth Southgate's own admission - by just how late his international boss left it to introduce the striker last weekend.

Just 40 seconds after his introduction, however, the 28-year-old's considerable presence in the box had helped create space for Jude Bellingham to score a sensational overhead kick to draw England level at 1-1, and the Bees forward then laid on the assist for Harry Kane's match-winning header in extra-time.

Before the game, with England struggling for form and fluency, there had been calls for 'game-changers' such as Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Newcastle's Anthony Gordon and Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze - but Toney's impact against the Slovakians strongly suggested he could be the real difference-maker in the Three Lions' ranks.

So, just how decisive could Toney prove to be against Murat Yakin's impressive Switzerland in the quarter-final on Saturday?

England manager Southgate referenced the "chaos" Toney can cause in opposing penalty boxes and his imposing presence undoubtedly provides them with a formidable offensive weapon.

With 36 goals in 85 Premier League games in a Brentford shirt, Toney's ability to ruffle the feathers of even the best centre-backs is well-known to Bees fans; and in his short cameo against Slovakia, no player on the pitch won more free-kicks than the centre-forward (3), who also won more headers (4) than any other attacker involved in the game.

Looking ahead to Saturday, the first player to spring to mind when you think of the Swiss backline is Manchester City's Manuel Akanji, who has excelled in his two seasons to date in the Premier League and has been one of the best centre-backs on show at Euro 2024.

However, one of Akanji's most difficult afternoons in English football came back in November 2022, when the Bees inflicted the only home defeat of the season on Pep Guardiola's eventual treble winners - Toney scoring both goals in a 2-1 win that saw him wreak havoc on City's backline.

That day Toney had the joint-most touches (53) for Brentford and he emphatically illustrated, often by dropping left to target Akanji on City's right, that he is one of the best in the business at allowing his team to bypass a well-organised press and link up effectively in the offensive third.

One of the key reasons that Brentford's Mark Flekken ranked so highly in the Premier League for accurate long balls last term, particularly in the second half of the season, is that Toney was one of his primary targets - only one goalkeeper in the top flight completed more successful long passes than Flekken's impressive 321: England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (400).

The Pickford-Toney combination could potentially cause Switzerland all sorts of problems in their defensive third, and offer England solutions to help them play more effective, vertical football at these European Championships.

England's threat from open play during this tournament has obvious room for improvement, and Toney's knack for scoring goals from set-piece scenarios is another obvious draw for Southgate. Since Brentford were promoted to the top flight, Toney has scored 12 Premier League goals from either throw-ins, corners and free-kicks - more than any other player - and, in tournament football, that kind of player can be crucial.

Add into the mix the probability that Portugal's shoot-out success against Slovenia is almost certain not to be the last game to be decided by penalties, Toney at least finishing games in the knockout phases seems eminently sensible - his career record of 30 successful spot-kicks out of an attempted 32 places him in the 'elite' bracket from 12 yards out.

An impressive 22 touches, three fouls drawn, four aerials won and an assist were an impressive statistical return for Toney in his 30 minutes against Slovakia, but his ice-cold temperament was perhaps even more striking.

After the match, England's super sub referenced the positive influence Brentford sports psychologist Michael Caufield has had in helping him in "controlling emotions", and the manner in which he defused a spat between Declan Rice and Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona seconds after the final whistle further suggested Toney was on top of his game mentally, as well as physically.

A game-changing no.9 with a proven goalscoring record at the top level, the ability to ruffle the most composed centre-backs, and a big-match temperament: it's safe to say that Toney could really make a difference in England's Euro 2024 quarter-final clash on Saturday.