England Squad Strength Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Bellamy
- Published
International friendly: England v Wales
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach says England's squad depth is remarkable that matchmakers would not pair them against his Wales side.
The Welsh squad meet England in a non-competitive match at the national stadium on this Thursday before their important World Cup qualifier against the Belgians next the following week.
England manager Tuchel has left the such as Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish from his selection for the Wales friendly and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a incredible squad, like the French," Bellamy said.
"England have a transfer market value of £1.4bn, ours is £170m. If you were a boxing promoter, you would not match us up. It wouldn't be allowed."
Bellamy explains making sure Wales can compete with the talented opponents is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach added: "We don't go off values, but the reality is they have more than one team. They have two, three, four and the French and others have the same level. They have many top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out with injury the recently and there's only 24 more to go! They've got 60-odd players. I'd love Wales to be stacked like them."
These two nations most recently met at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when the English ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a fixture before Gareth Southgate's side reached the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup winner at Chelsea who has claimed league championships in Ligue 1 and his home country.
The Welsh boss was previously an assistant at Anderlecht and the English club to Kompany, who replaced him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible coach - his achievements is proven," Bellamy added.
"I have some sort of insight because the club he left I am familiar with people who have gone in there. I get a glimpse from that of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is top level and I aimed to be facing that - see how we adjust because he adapts too. I can learn from it. I'd love to get to such heights."
Wales Squad List
Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), King (the Toffees).
Backline: Ben Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
