Wales Set to Take on Whichever Opponent in World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have won 8 of their recent 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final rivals.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a match against any opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.
"Many people were wondering last night, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.
"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be challenging.
"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated
Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.
Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on each times.
As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
As his nation's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.