Aleks Zinchenko suggested he knows exactly the level that Raheem Sterling will be at when England take on Ukraine in Rome on Saturday night.
The Manchester City left-back will go up against Sterling as well as John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden when the two national teams compete for a place in the semi-final of the European Championship.
Sterling entered the tournament with familiar doubts from England fans over his value to the team after he lost his place in Pep Guardiola's team for the last three months of the season to Foden and Riyad Mahrez. However, he has been integral to Gareth Southgate's plans from the off and has rewarded his England manager with three of the team's four goals in the competition.
If the performances of the City forward have silenced any critics close to home, his level has been noted from afar with caution from a player who has seen him wreak similar havoc on defences while playing for City.
"Raheem Sterling is one of the best wingers in the world," said Zinchenko. "Right now, he is in amazing form, he is great. He makes the difference. We obviously need to pay attention and we will need to somehow maybe stop him because he is on a roll now. "
Zinchenko has shone for Ukraine playing a range of positions including wide on the left, and notched a goal and an assist in their last-16 win over Sweden earlier this week.
