England Squad Depth Called 'Absurd' - Wales Boss Craig Bellamy

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Friendly match: Wales vs England

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

Craig Bellamy states England's squad depth is so impressive that a boxing promoter would not pair them with his Wales side.

The Welsh squad meet England in a friendly at the national stadium on this Thursday before their crucial qualifying match against Belgium next Monday.

National team coach Tuchel has omitted the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish from his selection for the match against Wales and their qualifying game against Latvia.

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

"They have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, ours is 170 million. Were you a boxing promoter, you would not put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."

He explains ensuring the Welsh team can compete with the talented opponents is a "driving force".

Bellamy continued: "We do not rely on market prices, but the reality is they have more than one team. They possess two, three, four and France and other nations are similarly stacked. England have many top talents and that's a fact."

"A defender went out injured the recently and there are 24 more to go! They have 60-odd players. I wish Wales to be well-equipped similarly."

The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the English emerged as easy victors in a group match before Gareth Southgate's side reached the last eight.

Southgate's successor is Tuchel, a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup champion at the London club who has claimed domestic titles in Ligue 1 and his native Germany.

The Welsh boss was formerly an coach at the Belgian side and the English club to Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at the German giants.

"Tuchel's an outstanding coach - his achievements speak for themselves," Bellamy added.

"I possess some sort of understanding because the team he departed I am familiar with people who have gone in there. I get a glimpse there of how he works and it's very impressive. "

"His strategic planning is top level and I wanted to be facing that - see how we adjust because he will. I will get to learn from that. I aspire to get to that level."

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

Backline: Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Kpakio (Cardiff City), Lawlor (Cardiff City), Mepham (West Brom), Joe Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).

Midfield: Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), H. Wilson (Fulham), J. Colwill (Cardiff City), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).

Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham - on loan from Liverpool), Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Moore (Wrexham), I. Davies (Cardiff).