Ex-Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand vented his thoughts live on the BBC
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand jokingly called for fellow studio pundit Ashley Williams to be ejected from the BBC studio four years ago. While England have progressed to the semi-finals at this summer’s World Cup, this moment came after the ex-Welsh international overlooked the Three Lions in his forecasts for the tournament in 2022.
As the World Cup in Qatar entered the knockout stages, Ferdinand was discussing the potential pathways to the final with Williams, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. “If Spain play Portugal, then you’ve got Brazil vs Argentina in the semis,” the former England centre-back said, “It’s unbelievable.”
Former Swansea City defender Williams was then invited to evaluate the opposite half of the draw, which included England’s eagerly awaited quarter-final clash with France, a match the Three Lions eventually lost 2-1.
“Then you’ve got France vs Spain,” Williams said, entirely disregarding England, before Ferdinand quickly interrupted. “What? What are you talking about?”
“This is why Ashley shouldn’t be in here,” he joked, demanding Williams be escorted out. “He should be gone now, take him out.”
England have surpassed their performance from four years ago, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup following a 2-1 triumph over Norway on Saturday evening. Jude Bellingham was the match-winner with two goals.
At the beginning of the competition, Ferdinand predicted that France or Spain would triumph. However, he has revised his opinion following Thomas Tuchel’s side reaching the final four.
Asked whether he believes England can go all the way and lift the World Cup trophy, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “I think we do. When the chips are down and things aren’t going well, England are working things out. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and we’re showing we’re able to find the right piece at the right time.
“I think that’s one of the things we have over the others. Argentina have managed to do that a couple of times but they’ve looked closer to going out than we have.”
While Bellingham has established himself as one of the standout performers at this summer’s tournament, Ferdinand was reluctant to award him man of the match against Norway, despite the Real Madrid star’s brace.
“Yeah, I thought Anderson,” Ferdinand said on his choice. “Elliot Anderson, I thought, was great. I can make very good arguments that you might not win the game without either of their [Elliot and Bellingham’s] performances and impact moments, so you need the blend of both.
“I’ve played in many games where, I don’t know, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored two goals but then Paul Scholes walks off with the man of the match or a defender does because they have moments in that game that aren’t as match-defining, but you know that without them moments or the bits of play that person had or contributed, we may not get to win the game.”
He added: “But listen, there’s no doubt in my mind, if Jude gets man of the match then he deserves it. He’s a match-winner… I’m saying it with my chest, yes, Jude Bellingham is the best England player that we’ve had in tournament football since 1966, any tournaments.”
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