The Welsh team Set to Face Anybody in FIFA World Cup Playoff Draw
Wales have won 8 of their last sixteen matches with coach Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.
After ended second in their qualification pool following a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of supporters were saying last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be fantastic.
"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so it will be challenging.
"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single 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 former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.
Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on each times.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and claimed a points additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
After taken only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered 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.