Three Lions Team Depth Called 'Ridiculous' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach states the English player pool is so impressive that a boxing promoter wouldn't match them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a friendly at Wembley on this Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has omitted the such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish out of his squad for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"The English have a ridiculous squad, like France," the coach remarked.
"England have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy says making sure the Welsh team can compete with the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
Bellamy continued: "We do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England have more than a single lineup. They have multiple and France and other nations have the same level. England have many top talents and that's a fact."
"One right-back went out with injury the recently and there are 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd players. I wish us to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when the English ran out easy 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.
Bellamy was previously an assistant at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who replaced him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an outstanding manager - his record speak for themselves," he added.
"I have a degree of understanding because the club he left I know individuals who have joined. I gain a bit of an insight from that of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against that - see how we adjust because he adapts too. I will get to learn from that. I'd love to reach such heights."
Welsh Team Selection
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (the Toffees).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
