“The best player on the pitch on Saturday will be wearing a Swiss shirt and is called Granit Xhaka”
Swiss legend Valon Behrami has claimed that Jude Bellingham “is not as good as people believe.”
Writing in a column in a Swiss newspaper, the former West Ham and Watford midfielder has given his thoughts on the England star midfielder.
He said: “[He] is an excellent player without doubt, mostly in attack. But he is not as good as people want you to believe. He is a player with a lot of influence on the game, but he is not yet a superstar.
“He is too imprecise and sloppy in the build-up. His style and his charisma does not please me. However, until present, England has been entirely centred on Bellingham, while the talents of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka have suffered from it.”
The former Switzerland player who played 83 times for his country was full of praise for Granit Xhaka who has impressed this tournament after an even more impressive season with Bayer Leverkusen.
He said: “Considering recent performances up until now, Bellingham will not be the best player on the pitch on Saturday. The best will be wearing a Swiss shirt and is called Granit Xhaka.
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Both Bellingham and Xhaka have been crucial for their nations, with the former being the only reason England are still in the tournament after scoring important goals against Serbia and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Xhaka has been a metronome in midfield for the Swiss, conducting play and creating chances while picking up two man of the match awards along the way.
The difference making could be something that Behrami pointed out in his analysis.
He said: There is no pressure on Switzerland. The platyers can play serenely and concentrate on their quality.
If the team fail, they will have lost against a great England team. If they reach the semi-final, they will write Swiss sporting history.”
England kick off against Switzerland today at 5pm on BBC One.
