England Team Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Wales Manager Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach states England's squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter wouldn't pair them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face England in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from his selection for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"England have a ridiculous squad, like the French," Bellamy said.
"England have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains making sure the Welsh team can face the star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
Bellamy continued: "We do not rely on values, but the reality is England have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and France and others are similarly stacked. They have many top talents and that's a fact."
"One right-back was ruled out with injury the other day and there are 24 more to choose from! They have over sixty players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England emerged as easy victors in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and world club winner at the London club who has claimed league championships in Ligue 1 and his home country.
The Welsh boss was previously an assistant at Anderlecht and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an incredible manager - his achievements is proven," he noted.
"I have some sort of understanding because the team he departed I know people who have joined. I get a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - see how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I can learn from that. I aspire to reach such heights."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - loaned by Rennes), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).