Rio Ferdinand has attracted some controversy on social media following comments made after Italy beat Spain 4-2 on penalties.
The 42-year-old boldly refused to express any concern over England facing either one of Luis Enrique or Roberto Mancini’s national outfits after the Blues came up trumps in their European Championship semi-final.
“It doesn’t matter who goes through here if you’re England,” the former Manchester United defender told his fellow pundits on BBC Sport.
“I believe England beat both of these sides.
“No one can compete with us right now with the confidence we’ve got.”
A large number of fans reacted somewhat negatively to the statement, taking to the Twittersphere to criticise what many saw as arrogance on the Englishman’s part.
READ MORE: Video: Jorginho mobbed after netting winning penalty to send Italy to Euros final
Should Gareth Southgate’s men manage to secure victory against Denmark tomorrow evening, the side will reach their first major final since 1966, having already matched the prior furthest point reached in an elite tournament under the ex-Middlesbrough boss.
Following a fast-paced encounter between two quality national outfits, however, the Italian national team appear to be far from pushovers and represent a more than genuine challenge to whoever emerges victorious from tomorrow’s remaining Euros semi-final.
Indeed, judging off of the online reaction to Ferdinand’s comments, it appears to be the case that few share the former defender’s confidence when it comes to a potential final clash with Italy.
You can catch some of the fan reaction below:
How annoying is Rio Ferdinand. “England beat both those teams”
— ?Rab ? (@robertmcnaught) July 6, 2021
It was almost as if Rio Ferdinand hadn’t watched the game that he was just in the ground for.
Confidence going over the border into arrogance.
— Chris Kirwan (@c_kirwan) July 6, 2021
Rio Ferdinand can’t stay humble or grounded. Clown.
— Paul McCluskey (@pgmccluskey) July 6, 2021
Rio ferdinand waay underestimating how well spain played tonight, Eng will be secretly happy italy scraped through to the final #ITAESP #EURO2020 #bbcfootball #SEMIFINAL
— Owain (@OAPreece) July 6, 2021
Where does Rio Ferdinand get the arrogance from. Perplexing behaviour.
— Paul Ferguson (@Fergz16) July 6, 2021
Ferdinand disrespecting Denmark big time ?
— Tom Muirhead (@MuirheadTfm4) July 6, 2021