Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has won eight of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final challengers.
After ended as runners-up in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against any opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many supporters were asking last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that would be incredible.
"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be challenging.
"But you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed
Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.
Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.
Notably, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.
As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.
The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.
Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
