Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Take on Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw
Wales have secured eight of their last 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.
After finished as runners-up in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will welcome a match against any team after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.
"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult.
"However you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated
Wales are placed 34th in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.
Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Swiss finished the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia lost just once in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended two points behind of their group winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after losing.
Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side surged 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 stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F 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 past 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing three of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
