Wales Set to Challenge Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Fixture
Wales have won 8 of their previous 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.
Having ended second in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a tie against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of people were saying recently, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.
"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.
"But you just feel that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Reviewed
Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.
The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
After taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 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.
