England Squad Strength Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Wales Manager Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach states the English player pool is so impressive that a boxing promoter wouldn't pair them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face England in a friendly at Wembley on this Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Foden and Grealish from his squad for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a incredible squad, like the French," the coach remarked.
"They have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says making sure the Welsh team can face the talented opponents is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach added: "We do not rely on values, but the simple fact is England don't just have a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and the French and other nations are similarly stacked. They have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back went out injured the recently and there are 24 more to choose from! They have 60-odd footballers. I'd love us to be stacked like them."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when the English ran out comfortable victors in a group match 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 Bayern Munich.
"He's an outstanding coach - his achievements is proven," he added.
"I possess some sort of understanding because the club he left I know people who have gone in there. I gain a bit of an insight from that of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I wanted 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 Team Selection
Keepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), King (Everton).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
