Three Lions Squad Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Boss Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states England's squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter would not pair them against his Wales side.
The Welsh squad face England in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on this Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish out of his squad for the Wales friendly 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, Wales' is £170m. If you were a boxing promoter, you would not put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains making sure the Welsh team can face the talented rivals is a "driving force".
Bellamy added: "We do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England have more than one team. They possess multiple and the French and others have the same level. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out with injury the recently and there are 24 more to go! They've got over sixty footballers. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when the English emerged as easy 3-0 winners in a group match before Gareth Southgate's side reached the last eight.
The new manager is Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has claimed league championships in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an incredible coach - his record speak for themselves," he added.
"I have some sort of insight because the team he departed I am familiar with people who have gone in there. I get a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - see how we adjust because he will. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to that level."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
