Wales Prepared to Take on Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has won 8 of their last 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.
Having finished second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be fantastic.
"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be tough.
"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semi-final Opponents Assessed
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.
Albania enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each times.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss ended the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have never faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a point additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.
Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After taken just one point from their first 3 matches, 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 third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure second place in Group F in dramatic fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
