Three Lions Team Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Wales Boss Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach says England's squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter wouldn't match them against the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on this Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against Belgium next the following week.
National team coach Thomas Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a ridiculous team, similar to France," the coach said.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy explains ensuring Wales can compete with the star-studded rivals is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is they have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and the French and others have the same level. They have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the other day and there are 24 more to go! They've got over sixty footballers. I'd love us to be stacked similarly."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England ran out easy 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup champion at the London club who has won domestic titles in France and his native Germany.
The Welsh boss was previously an coach at Anderlecht and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who replaced him at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding coach - his record is proven," he noted.
"I possess a degree of insight because the team he departed I know individuals who have gone in there. I get a bit of an insight from that of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I wanted to be facing such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he adapts too. I will get to learn from that. I'd love to reach such heights."
Welsh Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (the Toffees).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester - on loan from Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
