Three Lions Team Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Wales Boss Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, London Date: October 9th Kick-off: 19:45 BST
The Wales head coach says England's squad depth is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them against the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet England in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important qualifying match against the Belgians next Monday.
National team coach Thomas Tuchel has omitted the likes of Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from his squad for the Wales friendly and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.
"England 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 fight promoter, you wouldn't put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
Bellamy says making sure the Welsh team can face the talented rivals is a "key motivation".
Bellamy added: "We do not rely on market prices, but the reality is England don't just have a single lineup. They have two, three, four and the French and other nations are similarly stacked. England have many great players and that's a fact."
"A defender was ruled out injured the other day and there's only 24 more to go! They have over sixty players. I'd love us to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 tournament in the Middle East, when England emerged as easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the quarter-finals.
The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League and world club champion at the London club who has won league championships in France and his native Germany.
The Welsh boss was previously an assistant at the Belgian side and Burnley to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded him at Bayern Munich.
"He's an incredible manager - his record speak for themselves," Bellamy added.
"I possess a degree of insight because the club he left I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I get a bit of an insight from that of how he works and it's remarkable. "
"His tactical detail is elite and I aimed to be facing that - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to that level."
Wales Team List
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Adam Davies (Sheffield Utd), Tom King (Everton).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea City), Dasilva (Coventry), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (the Cherries), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Rennes), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Thomas (Stoke City), H. Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).
