The Welsh team Set to Take on Anyone in World Cup Play-off Draw
The team has secured eight of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.
They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against whichever team following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.
"Many fans were asking recently, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that could be amazing.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so they'll be challenging.
"But the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full 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 recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.
It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never played the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.
The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After taken just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.
Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
