Three Lions Squad Strength Labelled 'Absurd' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach states the English player pool is so impressive that a boxing promoter would not pair them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet England in a friendly at Wembley on this Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
England manager Tuchel has left the likes of Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his squad for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against Latvia.
"England have a incredible team, like France," Bellamy said.
"They have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, ours is £170m. Were you a fight promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy explains ensuring the Welsh team can face the talented rivals is a "key motivation".
Bellamy continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is England don't just have one team. They possess two, three, four and the French and other nations have the same level. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back went out injured the recently and there's only two dozen others to go! They've got over sixty footballers. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English emerged as easy victors in a fixture before the previous England team made it to the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup champion at Chelsea who has won league championships in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding manager - his achievements speak for themselves," he added.
"I have some sort of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I get a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be facing that - see how you're going to adapt because he will. I can learn from that. I'd love to reach such heights."
Welsh Team Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (the Toffees).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
