England Squad Depth Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy says the English squad depth is remarkable that matchmakers wouldn't pair them against his Wales side.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish out of his squad for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a incredible team, like the French," Bellamy said.
"They have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains making sure Wales can face the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "We do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England don't just have a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and France and other nations are similarly stacked. They have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the other day and there are two dozen others to go! They have 60-odd footballers. I'd love us to be well-equipped like them."
These two nations last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team made it to the last eight.
Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a European and world club winner at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and the English club to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded him at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an outstanding manager - his record speak for themselves," he added.
"I have a degree of insight because the club he left I am familiar with people who have joined. I get a bit of an insight there of his methods and it's very impressive. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I wanted to be up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he will. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to reach such heights."
Welsh Squad List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (the Toffees).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Brom), Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
