Three Lions Squad Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Wales Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach says the English squad depth is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has omitted the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish from his selection for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"England have a incredible squad, like France," Bellamy remarked.
"England have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says ensuring the Welsh team can face the star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is they don't just have a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and the French and others are similarly stacked. England have many top talents and that's a fact."
"One right-back went out with injury the recently and there are 24 more to choose from! They have 60-odd players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped like them."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England ran out easy victors in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a European and world club winner at Chelsea who has claimed league championships in France and his native Germany.
Bellamy was formerly an assistant at Anderlecht and the English club to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an outstanding coach - his achievements is proven," Bellamy noted.
"I have some sort of understanding because the club he left I am familiar with people who have joined. I gain a bit of an insight there of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against that - observe how we adjust because he will. I can learn from it. I'd love to get to that level."
Wales Squad List
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (the Toffees).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
