England Team Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: 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 so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet their neighbors in a friendly at the national stadium on Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against Belgium next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish from his squad for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"The English have a ridiculous team, like France," Bellamy remarked.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, Wales' is 170 million. If you were a boxing promoter, you wouldn't put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy explains making sure the Welsh team can face the talented opponents is a "driving force".
Bellamy continued: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the reality is England have more than a single lineup. They possess multiple and the French and others have the same level. They have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"One right-back went out injured the other day and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got over sixty players. I'd love Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when the English ran out easy 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 domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.
Bellamy was previously an coach at Anderlecht and the English club to Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"Tuchel's an outstanding coach - his achievements is proven," he noted.
"I have some sort of understanding because the club he left I know individuals who have joined. I gain a bit of an insight there of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His strategic planning 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 get to such heights."
Wales Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (the Toffees).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester - on loan from Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Broadhead (Wrexham), Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
