Three Lions Team Strength Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: England v Wales
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states England's player pool is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't match them with the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from his squad for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"The English have a ridiculous squad, similar to the French," the coach remarked.
"England have a transfer market value of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is £170m. If you were a fight promoter, you wouldn't put us together. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says making sure Wales can face the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach added: "We don't go off market prices, but the reality is they have more than a single lineup. They have two, three, four and France and others have the same level. They have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the other day and there are two dozen others to go! They've got 60-odd players. I wish us to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the English emerged as comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup champion at Chelsea who has won domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.
Bellamy was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible coach - his record is proven," he noted.
"I possess some sort of understanding because the team he departed I know people who have joined. I get a glimpse from that of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I wanted to be up against that - see how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from it. I aspire to get to such heights."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
