England Team Depth Called 'Absurd' - Welsh Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
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 would not match them with his Wales side.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Thomas Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish out of his squad for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against Latvia.
"England have a ridiculous team, like France," the coach said.
"They have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is £170m. If you were a fight promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He explains ensuring Wales can face the star-studded opponents is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and the French and others are similarly stacked. England have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender was ruled out with injury the other day and there are two dozen others to choose from! They have over sixty players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped like them."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when England ran out easy 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team made it to the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a European and world club champion at Chelsea who has won domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding coach - his record is proven," he added.
"I possess a degree of understanding because the club he left I am familiar with people who have gone in there. I gain a glimpse there of his methods and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I wanted to be up against that - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from that. I'd love to get to that level."
Wales Team Selection
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (Everton).
Defenders: Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke City), H. Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
