England Team Depth Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
Craig Bellamy says England's player pool is remarkable that matchmakers would not match them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet England in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the likes of Bellingham, Foden and Grealish from his selection for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against Latvia.
"The English have a ridiculous squad, like France," Bellamy remarked.
"They have a transfer market value of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is 170 million. Were you a fight promoter, you wouldn't put us together. It wouldn't be allowed."
He explains making sure the Welsh team can compete with the talented opponents is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the reality is they don't just have a single lineup. They have two, three, four and the French and other nations are similarly stacked. England have loads of 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've got 60-odd footballers. I'd love Wales to be well-equipped like them."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England emerged as comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the last eight.
The new manager is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at Chelsea who has won domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.
Bellamy was previously an assistant at Anderlecht and the English club to Vincent Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an outstanding manager - his achievements speak for themselves," he noted.
"I have some sort of insight because the team he departed I am familiar with 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 up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I aspire to reach that level."
Welsh Team List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (the Toffees).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - loaned by Rennes), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), H. Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
