England Squad Strength Called 'Absurd' - Welsh Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach says England's player pool is so impressive that matchmakers would not pair them against the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad meet England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on this Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next the following week.
National team coach Thomas Tuchel has omitted the likes of Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"England have a incredible team, similar to the French," the coach remarked.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. Were you a fight promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy explains ensuring the Welsh team can face the star-studded rivals is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "Our team don't go off values, but the simple fact is they have more than a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and the French and other nations have the same level. They have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out with injury the recently and there's only two dozen others to choose from! They have 60-odd players. I'd love Wales to be stacked similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when the English ran out easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team made it to the last eight.
The new manager is Tuchel, a European and world club winner at the London club who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an coach at Anderlecht and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an incredible coach - his record is proven," he noted.
"I have a degree of understanding because the club he left I am familiar with people who have joined. I gain a glimpse from that of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is top level and I aimed to be up against that - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I can learn from that. I'd love to get to that level."
Wales Squad List
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Everton).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
