Three Lions Squad Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: England v Wales
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach says England's squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter would not pair them against his Wales side.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on this Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left the likes of Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"The English have a ridiculous squad, like France," the coach said.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. Were you a fight promoter, you would not put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains ensuring the Welsh team can compete with the star-studded opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach added: "Our team do not rely on values, but the reality is England have more than a single lineup. They have two, three, four and France and other nations are similarly stacked. England have many top talents and that's a fact."
"A defender was ruled out injured the other day and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd footballers. I wish Wales to be stacked like them."
These two nations last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English emerged as comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a European and world club winner at the London club who has won league championships in France and his native Germany.
Bellamy was previously an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"He's an outstanding manager - his record is proven," he added.
"I have a degree of understanding because the club he left I know people who have gone in there. I get a glimpse there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I aimed to be facing that - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I'd love to get to that level."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by Liverpool), Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
