Chris Coleman reckons Jurgen Klopp would not have questioned Wales selecting Kop starlet Ben Woodburn if he had played international football himself.
Liverpool boss Klopp hit out in March after a 17-year-old Woodburn was called up by Coleman, without his consent.
Woodburn, Liverpool’s youngest-ever goal-scorer, was elevated to Welsh senior ranks after just seven first-team appearances for the Anfield giants.
But Coleman, who won 32 caps for Wales as a centre-back, says former Mainz defender Klopp doesn’t fully appreciate international football.
He admitted: “It helps if you have played international football and understand what it is all about.
“I have played international football myself.
“It is great for a player to be called up by his country and, even if they are only 16, they shouldn’t be put in a situation where they feel under pressure.”
Coleman has named his latest squad for the crucial final two World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland early next month.
Woodburn was a cert to be included after scoring a brilliant late winner against Austria as substitute on his debut on September 2.
The attacking ace then came off the bench again three days later to cross for Hal Robson-Kanu to break the deadlock in the 79th minute in Moldova .
Those back-to-back wins mean Wales' qualification dreams are still alive going into the final double header away to Georgia next Friday and at home to the Republic of Ireland on the following Monday.
Coleman added: “I think Jurgen was probably looking at Ben and thinking he wasn’t ready.
“But my point was he had been in the Liverpool squad and scored on his debut at Anfield — I looked at him in our younger teams too.
“I think the acid test is when they come and train with us. You see signs whether they can step up or not.
“All the signs with Ben were good and certainly in his first few caps with us we were right in assuming he was ready to come and play a part.”
Coleman contrasted Klopp’s reaction to Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, an ex-Italian international and former national team boss, welcoming the call-up by Wales of 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu.
He added: “I felt he put it all really well how he said it, and it is true. If you are good enough as a young player, why shouldn’t you be involved?
“I can see the players don’t belong to us and are not contracted to us and international football is a choice — you either want to do it or you don’t. But if you have played it you understand the importance of it and the honour of it.
“I wasn’t surprised by Antonio’s comments, of course they were welcome and it made total sense to me.”
But after Woodburn’s huge impact for Wales, Coleman admits the youngster will have to now deal with big expectations.
He said: “There is an expectation on Ben now, unfortunately.
“That is maybe the downside of it because he has burst on the scene and done great.
“But he is a kid and whether I now disappoint people because they want to see him starting, it is not personal to me, it is all about the best 11 players at that time and that is how I look at it.”