Wales will not be ‘tourists’ at Wembley against England – Craig Bellamy

Craig Bellamy insists Wales will not turn up as “tourists” for their Wembley showdown with England.

Thursday’s “Battle of Britain” friendly has a David and Goliath look about it with England ranked fourth in the world and Wales 30th.

But Wales boss Bellamy has suggested the visitors will not defend deep against Thomas Tuchel’s side, saying opponents are guaranteed to “die a slow death” if they do so.

‘Excited’

“We’re here to come and play,” Bellamy said at his pre-match Wembley press conference. “To play our brand of football.

“It’s difficult circumstances at an incredible place like Wembley, but to us it is excitement.

“We’re not here as tourists, to enjoy the occasion. We’re here to be the best version of ourselves, and that allows you to be excited and also to have fun as well.”

England head into the Wembley clash on a high after thrashing Serbia 5-0 away last month to move seven points clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.

That expansive performance performance came on the back of narrow 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Andorra, international minnows ranked 174th in the world.

Asked if England struggled to break down opponents who defend deep, Bellamy said: “I don’t believe that. They haven’t maybe got six, seven, eight, nine goals against Andorra, but they were in complete control.

“Did Serbia defend deep? He (Thomas Tuchel) has only had so many games, he hasn’t had too many.

“I honestly believe if you play this England team and you defend deep you’ll die a slow death – and I’m not into that.

“I’m like please, ‘Put me up against the wall and end it now’. So don’t put me in that position.”

Perfect preparation 

Bellamy sees Wales’ Wembley task as perfect preparation for their World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Cardiff on Monday.

Wales must win that tie to have any chance of topping their group and securing automatic qualification for next summer’s finals.

“We will be able to take a lot from this game to prepare for the Belgium game,” said Bellamy. “It’s beneficial to what we’re going to be up against on Monday.”

Captain Ben Davies will win his 99th Wales cap at Wembley and make his fourth appearance against England.

Davies has been on the losing side three times against England – a Euro 2016 group game, a 2020 Wembley friendly and a 2022 World Cup clash – and admits the last meeting in Qatar three years stung.

“I don’t think that’s our motivation going into this game, but if I look back to that game we definitely were not our best,” Davies said of the 3-0 defeat that confirmed Wales’ World Cup elimination.

“It’s a game that I felt disappointed walking off the pitch, not just because the result, but because we didn’t really show why we’d got to a major tournament.

“There’s a confidence going through the group that we will be able to put on a better show than we did last time.”