Wales Ready to Face Whichever Opponent in World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have secured 8 of their last 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 possible final challengers.
After finished as runners-up in their qualification group following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will relish a tie against any opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many people were saying recently, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible.
"So it's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so it will be tough.
"But the sense is that we'll take anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed
Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's prominent players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet played the Welsh team.
Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew 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 did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
Being his country's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.
The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final 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 crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.