Wales Ready to Take on Anyone in World Cup Playoff Draw
Wales have secured 8 of their previous sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final rivals.
After ended second in their qualifying pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.
They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of supporters were saying recently, 'do we really want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so it will be difficult.
"However you just feel that we'll take anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated
Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on both times.
While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.
They have not yet played Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but still ended two 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 leveler for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first 3 matches, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
