Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Fixture
Wales have secured eight of their last sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.
Having ended second in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final match on home soil.
They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a tie against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many people were asking last night, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.
"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.
"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed
The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.
Importantly, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group 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 squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.
They have not yet faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
As his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
After secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in their group in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.
Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
