France star Dayot Upamecano doesn't believe that England sensation Jude Bellingham is a "threat" ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday.
The Bayern Munich centre-back instead identified Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka as one to watch and lauded Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, who once scored a hat-trick against him. But it's Bellingham who's stolen the show in Qatar, as his superb performances for the Three Lions have helped them reach the last eight in rather emphatic fashion, following last Sunday's 3-0 triumph over Senegal.
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. We will use our experienced players, (Adrien) Rabiot and (Antoine) Griezmann, and count on them."
The 24-year-old, who's played the full 90 minutes in three of France's four World Cup fixtures, appears to be more focused on the immediate danger to him in defence; as he talked up Saka and Rashford's attacking prowess.
"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.
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"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."
Another of France's stars, Monaco's Youssouf Fofana, could be directly duelling with Bellingham in midfield and will relish the opportunity if selected by Les Blues boss Didier Deschamps. "I often watch him, because I haven't yet had the chance to play in the Champions League, he is progressing, he has passed a milestone for his club," Fofana added. "It will be a good duel with a youngster on our side who has also passed a milestone.”
