Wales Ready to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Playoff Fixture
Wales have secured 8 of their last sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final challengers.
After ended second in their qualifying pool following a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final match on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.
"Many people were saying last night, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.
"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so it will be tough.
"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Evaluated
Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.
Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Importantly, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.
As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the group 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 first major tournament appearance.
They have never played Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still finished two points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.
The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in dramatic style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with Wales, losing three of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.