England Squad Depth Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy says the English player pool is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next the following week.
England manager Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish out of his selection for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a incredible team, like France," Bellamy remarked.
"They have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is 170 million. Were you a fight promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says ensuring Wales can compete with the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "We don't go off values, but the reality is England have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and the French and other nations have the same level. They have many great players and that's a fact."
"A defender was ruled out injured the recently and there's only 24 more to go! They've got over sixty players. I wish us to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England emerged as comfortable victors in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the last eight.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and world club champion at Chelsea who has claimed league championships in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding coach - his record is proven," Bellamy added.
"I possess some sort of understanding because the club he left I know people who have gone in there. I gain a glimpse there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be facing that - observe how we adjust because he will. I can learn from it. I'd love to get to that level."
Welsh Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Spurs), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
