England Team Depth Called 'Absurd' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy says England's player pool is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face England in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on Thursday before their important qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish from his squad for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"England have a incredible squad, similar to the French," Bellamy said.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says ensuring Wales can compete with the star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team do not rely on values, but the reality is they have more than a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and France and others have the same level. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out injured the recently and there are 24 more to go! They have over sixty players. I'd love us to be stacked like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English emerged as comfortable victors in a group match before Gareth Southgate's side reached the last eight.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has claimed league championships in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.
The Welsh boss was previously an coach at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an outstanding coach - his record speak for themselves," he noted.
"I possess a degree of insight because the club he left I know individuals who have gone in there. I gain a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be up against that - see how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from it. I'd love to reach such heights."
Wales Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield United), King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - loaned by Rennes), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
