BBC pundit and former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas was told off and not "allowed" to compare Jude Bellingham to Lionel Messi, after the Real Madrid star scored the only goal of the game in England's 1-0 win over Serbia.
Fabregas, who was joined by Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards in the Beeb's outdoor studio, had been asked if he had been around a young player such as Bellingham who had already been deemed 'captain material'.
Bellingham stole the show in Gelsenkirchen, strutting his usual swagger outside of scoring the matchwinner, and Fabregas only compared the situation to his time with Messi in Barcelona.
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"Played (with)? No," Fabregas replied to Ferdinand's question. "But obviously I (played with) Messi if we are allowed to talk about him... I know we are talking about different players..."
Ferdinand and Lineker both quickly shut down Fabregas and pointed into the distance, with the ex-Manchester United defender arguing: "He's way over there somewhere!"
Fabregas, forced to backtrack, then followed up with another example at Euro 2024 with his home nation. "I think Lamine Yamal with Spain, I think he will be the next guy close to Bellingham," the Como assistant coach explained.
"These type of personalities, they don't care what age they are, they don't care where they play, what stage, they will deliver."
Bellingham was awarded Player of the Match and the 20-year-old thought that a "robust" victory was necessary to begin the tournament, having topped the group following Denmark's 1-1 draw with Slovenia earlier in the day.
"Good game," Bellingham said. "I thought they are a very tough side. Very robust, strong and a big group of lads and it was important that we prepared well.
"The staff got it right. We prepared all week very well. We knew the roles we had to do. We try to keep to our own standards and try to do our own job. It's important that we got off to a good start. Positive inside the camp and onto the next one.
"I have got used to getting into the box, getting wide and trying to do that. I got into that habit at Madrid and I wanted to carry my form into the Euros. It's a great start for me personally to get my confidence up and to help the lads get the win is the most important thing."
