The Welsh team Ready to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Fixture
The team has won eight of their last sixteen matches with manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.
After ended second in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against any team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many fans were saying recently, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.
"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Assessed
Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.
Importantly, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both times.
While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
As his country's all-time leading scorer 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 squad's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in their group in dramatic style.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.
Ireland are winless in their last four encounters with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
