Three Lions Squad Strength Called 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Craig Bellamy

• Published 1 hour ago

International friendly: Wales vs England

Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

The Wales head coach states the English squad depth is so impressive that matchmakers wouldn't pair them with the Welsh team.

The Welsh squad meet their neighbors in a friendly at Wembley on this Thursday before their important qualifying match against Belgium next the following week.

National team coach Thomas Tuchel has omitted the such as Jude Bellingham, Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against the Latvian team.

"England have a ridiculous team, similar to France," the coach remarked.

"They have a market valuation of £1.4bn, ours is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you would not match us up. That wouldn't be permitted."

He explains ensuring Wales can face the star-studded opponents is a "key motivation".

The Wales head coach continued: "We do not rely on market prices, but the simple fact is they don't just have a single lineup. They have multiple and France and other nations have the same level. They have many great players and that's the honest truth."

"A defender went out with injury the recently and there are 24 more to choose from! They've got 60-odd footballers. I'd love us to be well-equipped similarly."

The neighbouring countries most recently met at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, when England ran out easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team reached the last eight.

The new manager is Thomas Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup champion at Chelsea who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his home country.

The Welsh boss was previously an coach at Anderlecht and the English club to Vincent Kompany, who replaced Tuchel at the German giants.

"He's an outstanding manager - his achievements is proven," he noted.

"I have a degree of insight because the club he left I know people who have joined. I get a glimpse there of his methods and it's very impressive. "

"His tactical detail is top level and I wanted to be facing that - see how you're going to adapt because he will. I can learn from it. I'd love to reach that level."

Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Everton).

Defenders: Cabango (Swansea), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Spurs), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff), Mepham (West Brom), Rodon (Leeds), Williams (Nottingham Forest).

Midfielders: Ampadu (Leeds), Brooks (the Cherries), J. James (Leicester City - loaned by Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff).

Attackers: Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from the Reds), Brennan Johnson (Spurs), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).