England Squad Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states England's squad depth is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them with his Wales side.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish from his selection for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"England have a incredible team, similar to France," the coach remarked.
"England have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is 170 million. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy says making sure the Welsh team can face the star-studded opponents is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach continued: "We do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England have more than a single lineup. They have two, three, four and France and other nations have the same level. England have loads of great players and that's a fact."
"A defender went out with injury the other day and there are 24 more to go! They've got 60-odd footballers. I wish us to be stacked similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English ran out easy victors in a fixture before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in France and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and the English club to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded him at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an incredible coach - his record is proven," Bellamy noted.
"I have some sort of insight because the team he departed I know individuals who have joined. I get a bit of an insight from that of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be facing such a challenge - see how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I aspire to reach such heights."
Welsh Squad Selection
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), King (Everton).
Defenders: Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).
