Wales Set to Face Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw
The team has won 8 of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final opponents.
After finished second in their qualifying pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on home soil.
They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many fans were asking last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they're 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 much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Reviewed
Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have never played the Welsh team.
Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.
Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his own.
Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean broke 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.