Wales Set to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Playoff Draw
The team has won 8 of their previous 16 matches with coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final challengers.
After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie against whichever opponent after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of supporters were asking recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that could be fantastic.
"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be tough.
"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.
Notably, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on each times.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.
The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.
Ireland are winless in their past four encounters with Wales, losing 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.