England Team Depth Called 'Ridiculous' - Wales Manager Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: 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 wouldn't pair them with his Wales side.
The Welsh squad face England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
National team coach Thomas Tuchel has omitted the likes of Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"England have a ridiculous squad, like the French," Bellamy remarked.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says ensuring the Welsh team can compete with the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "We don't go off values, but the reality is England have more than a single lineup. They have multiple and France and other nations have the same level. England have many top talents and that's a fact."
"One right-back went out with injury the recently and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd players. I wish us to be stacked like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when England ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has won league championships in France and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an incredible manager - his record is proven," Bellamy added.
"I have some sort of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have gone in there. I gain a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I wanted to be facing that - see how we adjust because he will. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to that level."
Wales Team Selection
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Defenders: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
