Three Lions Team Strength Labelled 'Absurd' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach states the English player pool is so impressive that matchmakers would not pair them with his Wales side.
The Welsh squad face their neighbors in a friendly at the national stadium on Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next the following week.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left the likes of Bellingham, Foden and Jack Grealish from his selection for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against the Latvian team.
"England have a incredible team, similar to France," Bellamy said.
"They have a transfer market value of ÂŁ1.4bn, Wales' is ÂŁ170m. Were you a boxing promoter, you wouldn't match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains making sure Wales can face the star-studded opponents is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "We don't go off values, but the simple fact is they have more than a single lineup. They have two, three, four and the French and other nations are similarly stacked. They have many great players and that's a fact."
"One right-back was ruled out injured the recently and there's only two dozen others to go! They have 60-odd players. I'd love us to be well-equipped like them."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the English emerged as easy 3-0 winners in a group match before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup champion at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in France and his native Germany.
Bellamy was previously an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded him at the German giants.
"Tuchel's an incredible manager - 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 there of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I wanted to be facing that - see how you're going to adapt because he will. I will get to learn from that. I'd love to get to such heights."
Welsh Team Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (the Toffees).
Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Forest).
Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds), David Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - on loan from Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke City), H. Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham City - loaned by the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
