England Squad Depth Called 'Absurd' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach says the English player pool is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them with his Wales side.
Bellamy's men face England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has left the likes of Jude 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 squad, similar to the French," the coach remarked.
"They have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is £170m. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains making sure Wales can compete with the star-studded rivals is a "key motivation".
Bellamy continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is they don't just have a single lineup. They possess multiple and France and other nations are similarly stacked. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the other day and there are two dozen others to choose from! They've got 60-odd players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a group match before Gareth Southgate's side reached the last eight.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup champion at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who succeeded him at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an incredible coach - his record speak for themselves," Bellamy added.
"I possess a degree of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I gain a glimpse from that of his methods and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I wanted to be up against that - see how we adjust because he adapts too. I will get to learn from it. I'd love to reach that level."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (the Toffees).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
