Three Lions Team Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Boss Craig Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Craig Bellamy states England's player pool is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men face their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.
National team coach Tuchel has omitted the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from his squad for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"The English have a incredible team, like France," the coach said.
"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is £170m. 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 star-studded rivals is a "driving force".
The Wales head coach added: "Our team do not rely on values, but the simple fact is they don't just have one team. They possess multiple and France and others have the same level. England have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender was ruled out with injury the recently and there's only two dozen others to choose from! They have 60-odd footballers. I wish Wales to be stacked like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when the English emerged as easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has won league championships in France and his home country.
Bellamy was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and Burnley to Kompany, who replaced him at the German giants.
"He's an incredible manager - his achievements speak for themselves," he noted.
"I possess some sort of insight because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I get a glimpse from that of how he works and it's very impressive. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be up against such a challenge - observe how we adjust because he will. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to that level."
Welsh Team Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Everton).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Rennes), Sheehan (Bolton), Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - loaned by the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff City).
