Wales Prepared to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Fixture
Wales have won eight of their recent sixteen matches with manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semifinal and potential final challengers.
Having ended second in their qualifying group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie against any opponent after their most recent result 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 last night, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that could be amazing.
"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be tough.
"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
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The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.
Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.
Importantly, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.
They have never faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
As his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson'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 scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
