Three Lions Team Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states England's squad depth is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't match them with the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has omitted the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his squad for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"England have a ridiculous squad, like France," the coach remarked.
"England have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He explains ensuring the Welsh team can compete with the star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
Bellamy added: "We don't go off values, but the reality is they don't just have one team. They possess two, three, four and the French and others have the same level. They have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender was ruled out injured the recently and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd players. I wish Wales to be stacked like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the English ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team reached the last eight.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and world club winner at Chelsea who has won domestic titles in France and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible manager - his achievements speak for themselves," he noted.
"I possess a degree of understanding because the team he departed I know individuals who have gone in there. I get a glimpse from that of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is top level and I wanted to be up against such a challenge - see how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to such heights."
Wales Team List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).