Ahead of their World Cup quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, France’s Dayot Upamecano does not consider England wonder Jude Bellingham to be a “danger.”
Instead, the Bayern Munich center-back praised Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, who previously scored a hat-trick against him, and singled out Arsenal star Bukayo Saka as one to watch.
Bellingham has, however, been the star of the show in Qatar, as a result of his outstanding performances for the Three Lions, who advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Senegal 3-0 on Sunday.
Upamecano has faced the 19-year-old midfielder on five occasions in his budding career and only lost once – a 4-1 German cup final defeat to Bellingham’s Borussia Dortmund when he was still an RB Leipzig player.
But ahead of their next and most seismic clash to date, the French defender has played down his Bundesliga rival’s potential impact.
“I wouldn’t say Jude Bellingham is a threat but they have a very strong team,” Upamecano declared. “I know Bellingham: Bayern versus Dortmund, it’s war.
“He has got real talent and is a very good player, is gaining in experience as he is playing in all the matches so I think it will be a really good fight in midfield.
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“We will use our experienced players, (Adrien) Rabiot and (Antoine) Griezmann, and count on them.”
“Bukayo Saka likes to cut inside. We’ll have to make as few errors as possible. We’ll be ready,” Upamecano went on to explain.
“Rashford is a very good player. I’m not going to be focused on one player though,” added Upamecano.
“England have some really good players, a really good bench for sure, and have a lot of players who can make the difference.
“We are going to have to be careful and focused. It is going to come down to details so we are going to have to make the least amount of mistakes as possible and I think that team will win the game.”
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