England Squad Strength Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Boss Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
Craig Bellamy states the English squad depth is remarkable that a boxing promoter would not match them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet England in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish from his squad for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"England have a ridiculous squad, like the French," Bellamy said.
"England have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, Wales' is £170m. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy says making sure Wales can compete with the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach added: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the reality is England have more than one team. They have two, three, four and the French and others are similarly stacked. They have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender was ruled out injured the recently and there are 24 more to choose from! They have over sixty players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when England ran out easy victors in a group match before Gareth Southgate's side made it to the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a European and world club champion at the London club who has won league championships in France and his native Germany.
The Welsh boss was previously an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an outstanding coach - his achievements speak for themselves," Bellamy noted.
"I possess a degree of insight because the club he left I know individuals who have gone in there. I gain a glimpse from that of his methods and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I aspire to get to such heights."
Welsh Team List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester City - on loan from Rennes), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
