England Squad Depth Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach states the English player pool is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them against his Wales side.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against Belgium next the following week.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left the likes of Jude Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish from his squad for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a ridiculous squad, like France," Bellamy remarked.
"They have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. If you were a fight promoter, you would not put us together. It wouldn't be allowed."
He says ensuring Wales can compete with the talented opponents is a "driving force".
Bellamy added: "We don't go off values, but the simple fact is they have more than one team. They possess multiple and France and others are similarly stacked. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out injured the other day and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd footballers. I'd love us to be well-equipped similarly."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English ran out easy victors in a fixture before the previous England team made it to the last eight.
Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a European and world club champion at Chelsea who has won league championships in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible coach - his record speak for themselves," Bellamy added.
"I possess a degree of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have gone in there. I get a glimpse from that of his methods and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from it. I'd love to get to that level."
Welsh Team Selection
Keepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (Everton).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry), B. Davies (Spurs), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), J. Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
