England Squad Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
Craig Bellamy says England's player pool is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't match them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet their neighbors in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish out of his squad for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"England have a incredible squad, like France," the coach said.
"England have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is £170m. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't put us together. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says making sure Wales can face the star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
Bellamy continued: "Our team don't go off values, but the simple fact is England have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and France and other nations have the same level. England have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the recently and there's only two dozen others to go! They've got over sixty footballers. I'd love Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when England emerged as comfortable 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team reached the last eight.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and world club champion at the London club who has won domestic titles in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was previously an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who succeeded him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible coach - his record speak for themselves," Bellamy noted.
"I have some sort of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with people who have gone in there. I gain a glimpse from that of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be up against that - observe how we adjust because he will. I can learn from that. I aspire to get to such heights."
Welsh Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
