Wales Prepared to Face Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw
Wales have won 8 of their last sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.
After ended second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.
"A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many people didn't. But for me, that would be fantastic.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a very good team so they'll be tough.
"However the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Evaluated
The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.
Albania had a strong qualification run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.
Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.
The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have never faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in dramatic fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.
Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of those, though James McClean broke 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.
