Wales Ready to Take on Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw
Wales have won eight of their last 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.
After ended as runners-up in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will welcome a match against any opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.
"A lot of supporters were asking recently, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.
"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent 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 anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Reviewed
Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio'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 scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Notably, Albania have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet played the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching 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 topped the pool.
The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after losing.
Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with Wales, losing three of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
