The Welsh team Prepared to Challenge Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture
Wales have won 8 of their last sixteen matches with coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.
After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many people were wondering last night, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be fantastic.
"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so it will be challenging.
"But you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Assessed
Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team had a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.
Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but still ended two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
After secured only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in dramatic fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.