Image source, Getty Images

With England regulars at major tournaments, and Wales looking to qualify for just their second World Cup since 1958, it's hardly surprising that there is a contrast between the two squads.

Wales squad of 26:

• Premier League - 9 players
• Championship - 12 players (including loans)
• League One - 5 players

England squad of 24:

• Premier League: 20 players
• Bundesliga: 2 players
• La Liga: 1 player
• Serie A: 1 player

There are just nine top-flight players in the Welsh squad, with all of the England players currently playing for a club in one of Europe's top five leagues.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Alec: As a Welsh man, I think it's stupid that we're playing a friendly before having a very important qualifier. If you were Bellamy or Tuchel would you play your fringe players to give them extra experience?

Dafydd: You're not the only Wales fan who'd rather not play this game but, unfortunately, they have to play a friendly of some sort when their World Cup qualifying group rivals are all in action. One positive is that Wales play tonight and Belgium face North Macedonia tomorrow night, so Wales will have an extra day to recover.

I think Bellamy will go fairly strong as he really wants to win and some players need the minutes but, whatever the match situation, he'll be making plenty of substitutions in the second half to protect players for Monday.

England have such an enviably vast pool of players that Tuchel could field a fourth or fifth string that could qualify for major tournaments. With Latvia up next, I'd imagine he'll mix and match in both.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Craig Bellamy was appointed Wales head coach last summer following the sacking of predecessor and former team-mate Rob Page.

Bellamy, who narrowly missed out to Ryan Giggs for the job in 2018, took his first steps in coaching with Cardiff City's academy before serving as assistant manager to former Manchester City team-mate Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and then Burnley - where he also briefly acted as stand-in head coach prior to Scott Parker’s appointment.

The 46-year-old has made an immediate impact in his first coaching role at the highest level, winning six and drawing four of his 12 games at the helm so far.

The former Newcastle, Celtic, Manchester City and Liverpool striker has guided Wales to joint second in their World Cup qualifying group and while they've lost two of their last three matches, one of those defeats came in dramatic fashion after Wales scored three goals in Belgium only to fall to a last-gasp Kevin de Bruyne winner.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Liam: From a Wales perspective, I've been hearing that scheduling this friendly may not be a good idea as a defeat would cost points in the Fifa rankings which is used to determine the pots in the play-off draw. Should friendlies just be about winning games and climbing up the rankings?

Dafydd: Wales had to play a friendly as it’s a World Cup qualifying matchday but they're the odd ones out this time in their five-team group without a game.

A defeat would have a negative effect on Wales' ranking - and potentially their play-off ranking - but, on the other (more optimistic) side of things, winning such a game would boost the rankings. Winning a competitive game, such as Monday's qualifier against Belgium, would have a bigger impact on their ranking.

Either way, Craig Bellamy wants to use these friendlies to test his players and his own coaching skills against some of the best teams in the world, so they're better prepared for major tournaments and big qualifiers.

England and Wales face each other for the 105th time.

Wales have a historically poor away record in this fixture, losing 18 of 25 games since 1937.

Their solitary win during that period was a first Wembley triumph in 1977 courtesy of a Leighton James penalty.

Wales have not won against England at Wembley since 1977 when a Leighton James penalty sealed a famous 1-0 win.

The last encounter between the two nations saw England victorious with a 3-0 win at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

"I haven't looked at it that way [but I'm] beyond proud," Wales boss Craig Bellamy said.

"And of course when that anthem goes and you're like, 'this is so good'.

"Let's be the best versions, but most importantly enjoy it and for myself to enjoy it.

"We see England's strengths, we see their weaknesses, and for us, it's history we're always aware of and always respectful of, but to us, it's game by game."

Wales defender Ben Davies, speaking to the media: "We're playing against a top 10 nation in the world, a very good team.

"Ultimately we want to test ourselves against the best teams to be ready for when we play another very good team [Belgium] on Monday night.

"As a squad, we've worked hard this week, we've looked at the qualities that these teams have and feel like we're as prepared as we can be.

"So we want to come out here, show our identity, show what we can do and what we've done against other teams and hopefully have a good performance."

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

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Paul: What is behind Tuchel's thinking in leaving out Foden, Grealish and Bellingham from his latest England squad? Do you think he is still experimenting with his fringe players, with a view to bringing them back into the fold closer to the World Cup, or is it curtains for them?

Hello, Paul. I think he made it clear that he wanted to stick with the bulk of the squad that delivered the best performance of his reign in beating Serbia 5-0 in Belgrade.

I certainly do not think it is curtains for his fringe players, but Tuchel is obviously not someone who will just bring back the big names because they are available. He has shown loyalty.

Jude Bellingham will be in England’s World Cup squad, I am certain of that. Phil Foden has a good chance as well, but he has work to do because there is heavy competition now.

Of the three names you mention, I think there is every chance Bellingham and Foden will go.

Jack Grealish has been outstanding at Everton and Tuchel is a fan, but there are a lot of options in the wide positions so I'm not so sure about him.

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It's almost a year since Thomas Tuchel was announced as the England manager, a role which he didn't begin until January this year.

But what have his results been so far?

*all matches World Cup qualifiers unless stated

• 21 March - England 2-0 Albania
• 24 March - England 3-0 Latvia
• 7 June - Andorra 0-1 England
• 10 June - England 1-3 Senegal (friendly)
• 6 September - England 2-0 Andorra
• 9 September - Serbia 0-5 England

So far under Tuchel, England have a pretty good record, with five wins from his six games in charge and only conceded in one game.

However, they have faced just one team inside the top 20 of the Fifa world rankings - and that ended in a 3-1 defeat against Senegal at the City Ground in June.

Their performance in Belgrade during the last international break showed signs that Tuchel has started to get his ideas across, as they eased through their most difficult test of the qualifying campaign.

England

England head coach Thomas Tuchel: "We will arrive as underdogs in the World Cup because we haven't won it for decades, and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time, so we need to arrive as a team otherwise we have no chance."

Thomas Tuchel said last week that he has "no problem" with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden or Jack Grealish after the trio were left out of his latest England squad

Bellingham has failed to earn a recall despite returning from a shoulder injury, while Foden and Grealish also miss out despite returning to form with Manchester City and Everton.

England boss Tuchel said Bellingham had wanted to be included in the squad, having spoken to the 22-year-old on the phone.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Tuchel said: "This is the decision, if they like it or not. They know my appreciation, they know I clearly see and observe how good Phil is at the moment for Manchester City.

"Jack knows that I see how influential he is for Everton and is on the way to being the best version of himself. Jude knows he is a special player. He knows that I know he is a special player."

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

When comparing Robert Page’s final 12 games in charge with Craig Bellamy's opening 12 as Wales head coach, one clear change has been a tactical switch to focus more on possession and controlling matches with the ball.

Under Page, Wales' high-energy approach was based on pressing aggressively off the ball, particularly in wide areas, predominantly using a fluid 3-4-3 formation to attack directly.

Bellamy has so far exclusively used a back four, encouraging his players to get on the ball and build attacks in a more prosaic manner.

The change in approach has resulted in a far higher average amount of possession, a higher tally of passes and a slight reduction in how often they turn the ball over high up the pitch.

Wales also boast a higher expected goals tally under Bellamy.

Will Bellamy's tactics give Wales a greater chance of beating England? Thumbs up for yes, down for no.

Wales

Wales boss Craig Bellamy has only lost two of his 12 games in charge.

It's six wins, four draws and two defeats. 20 goals scored in that period too. Not bad?!

• 6 Sep 2024: Wales 0–0 Turkey (Nations League)
• 9 Sep 2024: Montenegro 1–2 Wales (Nations League)
• 11 Oct 2024: Iceland 2–2 Wales (Nations League)
• 14 Oct 2024: Wales 1–0 Montenegro (Nations League)
• 16 Nov 2024: Turkey 0–0 Wales (Nations League)
• 19 Nov 2024: Wales 4–1 Iceland (Nations League)
• 22 Mar 2025: Wales 3–1 Kazakhstan (World Cup qualifier)
• 25 Mar 2025: North Macedonia 1–1 Wales (World Cup qualifier)
• 6 Jun 2025: Wales 3–0 Liechtenstein (World Cup qualifier)
• 9 Jun 2025: Belgium 4–3 Wales (World Cup qualifier)
• 4 Sep 2025: Kazakhstan 0–1 Wales (World Cup qualifier)
• 9 Sep 2025: Wales 0–1 Canada (friendly)

Manager Craig Bellamy insists Wales will not be "tourists" when they face England at Wembley.

"We are here to come and play our brand of football in difficult circumstances, in an incredible place like Wembley," said Bellamy.

"It is excitement. We are not here as tourists to enjoy the occasion. We are here to be the best version of ourselves."

Wales

• England v Wales (19:45 BST) - friendly
• Wales v Belgium (Mon, 19:45 BST) - World Cup qualifier

Thanks for all the messages to our reporters so far - there have been loads of them already.

So many of you asking what the point is to these friendlies and why this fixture is in the schedule. A point that we'll be putting to our reporters - Dafydd Pritchard from BBC Wales and Alex Howell and Phil McNulty from BBC Sport.

Remember, click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your question answered, whether it's from a Welsh or English perspective.

Wales

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

Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).

Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).

Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from Liverpool), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).

England

• England v Wales (19:45 BST) - friendly

• Latvia v England (Tue, 19:45 BST) - World Cup qualifier

Sophie Trifonoff
BBC Sport

Harry Kane's absence will be a blow for England given his current form, scoring 18 goals for Bayern Munich in just ten games this season and 104 since joining the German side in 2023.

The former Tottenham striker is responsible for 26.4% of all England goals since his debut against Lithuania in 2015.

He has scored a record 74 goals for England in his 109 caps. The rest of the current squad has scored 53 between them.

The Three Lions have a clear reliance on the captain to provide their goalscoring threat, and not only is a win more likely with Kane, but goals are also scored more frequently.

When the number nine is on the pitch, England score an average of 2.2 goals compared to 1.7 goals without him. They are also more effective at taking their chances in front of goal and have more expected goals per game with Kane in the side.

Image source, Getty Images

England captain Harry Kane will miss tonight's friendly against Wales with a minor ankle injury.

The 32-year-old has been absent from training after taking a kick to his ankle during Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

England hope their record goalscorer will be fit to face Latvia in a World Cup qualifier next Tuesday.

Manager Thomas Tuchel said: "Harry will miss the game, he got a kick in his last match and it is too painful to kick the ball and too risky for him.

"We give him the chance for it calm down and we are convinced he will be ready for Latvia."