Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland is more than capable of starting for England in the 2024 European Championship, according to Argentine winger Angel di Maria.
Ahead of Rangers’ visit this week, the renowned former attacker for Real Madrid currently plays for rivals in the Europa League, Benfica.
After losing to Rangers in the Champions League, Benfica defeated Toulouse in the Europa League playoffs. However, playing the tournament veterans at this point of the game presents a completely other set of challenges.
Angel di Maria, 36, is excited about the competition, but he believes Benfica will need to defeat Jack Butland, one of Europe’s best goalkeepers, if they want to defeat Rangers.
Jack Butland is hailed by Angel di Maria
One of the season’s biggest additions, Jack Butland is a former Crystal Palace custodian whose contributions have been well appreciated by Rangers supporters.
Additionally, Gareth Southgate, who is supposedly planning an England call-up more than five years after Butland was last in the group, has apparently taken note of the 30-year-old’s form.
As he hyped the Europa League match, Angel di Maria called Jack Butland one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and discussed the challenge of playing Rangers.
According to the Scottish Sun, Angel di Maria stated, “Rangers wasn’t the best opponent for us in this draw but at this stage, every rival is complicated.”
Since the first game is at home, we must play with all focus if we want to do well. Glasgow will make the decision, but we need to arrive there with the upper hand.
“I don’t think this tie will include many goals. Rangers have a great team, based on what we’ve seen.
Butland, the keeper, is among the greatest in Europe. They possess James Tavernier’s experience, and Fabio Silva will be extremely driven for this game.
“I’m confident we can score goals against Rangers if we have possession of the ball.” For us, though, this will be a fierce battle. Our current goal is to get to the Europa League final, but our dream was to play in the Champions League.
Rangers make a journey to Benfica for the Europa League.
Rangers are aware that in order to defeat Benfica and Angel di Maria, Jack Butland will need to be at the very best of his game.
The Argentina winger is obviously of the belief that the Ibrox custodian is of England calibre and that the stopper’s prospects will only be strengthened with a great performance in the Europa League.
Rangers are not the only team coming into this match fresh off a loss; rivals Porto soundly defeated Benfica 5-0 the previous weekend.
Rangers now have the template for what should be an exciting game at Estadio de Luz, and let’s hope we’re still in the tie when we play Glasgow next week.
Read more news at https://sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply