The Welsh team Prepared to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Draw
Wales have won 8 of their last sixteen matches with manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.
After ended second in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie 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 mentality is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.
"Many fans were asking last night, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be tough.
"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Reviewed
Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.
The Albanian national team had a strong qualifying run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full 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 recognizable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have never played Wales.
Bosnia lost just once in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still finished 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.
Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
