Three Lions Squad Depth Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Boss Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states the English player pool is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them against the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad meet England in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"The English have a incredible team, like the French," Bellamy said.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy explains ensuring Wales can face the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team do not rely on values, but the simple fact is England have more than one team. They have two, three, four and France and others have the same level. England have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"A defender was ruled out injured the other day and there's only two dozen others to go! They have 60-odd footballers. I wish Wales to be stacked similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when England emerged as easy victors in a fixture before the previous England team reached the last eight.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and world club winner at the London club who has claimed domestic titles in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding coach - his achievements is proven," Bellamy noted.
"I possess a degree of insight because the club he left I am familiar with people who have joined. I gain a glimpse there of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is top level and I wanted 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 such heights."
Welsh Squad List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (the Toffees).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
