England Squad Strength Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
Craig Bellamy states England's squad depth is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them with his Wales side.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against Latvia.
"The English have a incredible squad, similar to the French," the coach remarked.
"They have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, ours is £170m. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy explains ensuring Wales can face the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team don't go off values, but the simple fact is England don't just have a single lineup. They possess multiple and the French and other nations are similarly stacked. They have loads of top talents and that's a fact."
"A defender was ruled out with injury the recently and there's only two dozen others to go! They have 60-odd players. I wish Wales to be stacked like them."
These two nations last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England emerged as comfortable victors in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side made it to the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup winner at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was previously an assistant at Anderlecht and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who replaced him at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an outstanding coach - his record is proven," he added.
"I possess a degree of understanding because the club he left I know individuals who have joined. I gain a glimpse there of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I wanted to be up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he will. I can learn from it. I aspire to get to such heights."
Wales Squad List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield United), King (Everton).
Defenders: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - loaned by Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
