England Squad Depth Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Boss Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states the English squad depth is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them with his Wales side.
The Welsh squad meet England in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish out of his squad for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"The English have a ridiculous team, similar to the French," Bellamy remarked.
"England have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. Were you a fight promoter, you wouldn't put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy explains making sure the Welsh team can compete with the talented opponents is a "driving force".
Bellamy continued: "Our team don't go off market prices, but the simple fact is England don't just have a single lineup. They have multiple and the French and others have the same level. They have many great players and that's a fact."
"One right-back was ruled out with injury the recently and there are two dozen others to choose from! They have 60-odd footballers. I'd love Wales to be well-equipped 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 made it to the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Tuchel, a European and world club champion at the London club who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.
Bellamy was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an incredible coach - his record is proven," Bellamy added.
"I possess some sort of understanding because the club he left I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I gain a bit of an insight from that of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I'd love to get to that level."
Welsh Squad List
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), King (the Toffees).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke City), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
