Former Switzerland international Ramon Vega has sent a tongue-in-cheek message to England greats Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker. The comments came ahead of England's upcoming Euro 2024 quarterfinal showdown against Switzerland.
Gareth Southgate's side have struggled so far in the tournament but have still managed to qualify for the last eight. While the Three Lions would be considered favorites against the Swiss any other day, their current form does not paint a nice picture.
Picking on England's dodgy form so far in the event, Vega said that he wanted to watch the game with Lineker and Shearer in the BBC studio. He told the Mirror (via Metro):
"I would love to be in the studio with those guys, both Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, just to see their faces! I’ve been following their comments and what they have been saying throughout the tournament and let’s see what happens now."
Adding that he was confident of a Switzerland win, Vega claimed:
"We believe we will win but I’ll bring the best Swiss cheese, the finest raclette cheese, and they can eat that when Switzerland win. I’ll happily eat fish and chips if England win – but, don’t worry, it won’t come to that!
"England have big players. They have the best league in the world. Yet we know we can do it. We know we can beat England. We beat the holders, Italy, in the last round. We knocked out France in the last Euros. We’ve been consistent for so many years.
"Everyone talks about Italy being poor that day. Why is that? I’ll tell you why: we made them look bad. We outplayed them. It was down to us. Not them."
Notably, Switzerland had knocked out then-World Cup champions France from Euro 2020 in the Round of 16. They have also defeated defending Euro champions Italy at the same stage in the ongoing edition.
What Gary Lineker said about England v Switzerland Euro 2024 quarterfinal
Gary Lineker was rather pessimistic about England's chances in the upcoming Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Switzerland. He conceded that the Three Lions were not the favorites going into the game, saying (via Metro):
"We are in the quarter-final but it is hard to be that hopeful. If you had said at the start of the tournament England would be in the quarter-finals against Switzerland you would have said fantastic, you fancy your chances there. Big favorites. But I don’t think they are big favorites. Far from it."
England and Switzerland will face off in the quarterfinal on Saturday, July 6, at the Dusseldorf Arena.