Three Lions Team Strength Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Boss Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach says the English squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter would not match them with the Welsh team.
The Welsh squad face England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on this Thursday before their crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the likes of Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"England have a incredible squad, similar to France," Bellamy said.
"England have a market valuation of £1.4bn, Wales' is £170m. Were you a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
He explains ensuring Wales can compete with the star-studded rivals is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "Our team do not rely on market prices, but the reality is they don't just have a single lineup. They possess two, three, four and France and other nations are similarly stacked. England have loads of great players and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out with injury the other day and there's only 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd footballers. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when England ran out easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has claimed league championships in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible coach - his achievements is proven," Bellamy noted.
"I have a degree of insight 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 strategic planning is top level and I aimed to be up against that - see how you're going to adapt because he will. I will get to learn from that. I'd love to get to that level."
Wales Squad List
Keepers: Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford), Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
