Wales Prepared to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw
Wales have secured 8 of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final rivals.
After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of supporters were saying last night, 'do we really want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of people didn't. But personally, that would be amazing.
"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.
"However you just feel that we'll take anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Reviewed
The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.
As Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.
They have not yet played Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having secured only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in dramatic style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.
Ireland are winless in their past 4 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 crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.