The Welsh team Set to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have secured 8 of their recent sixteen matches with coach Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.
After ended as runners-up in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many supporters were saying recently, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.
"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.
"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Assessed
The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never 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 had poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have never played Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
As his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
After secured just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of these, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
