The Welsh team Prepared to Take on Anyone in World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have won 8 of their last sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a decisive 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 Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will welcome a tie against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many fans were saying recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be incredible.
"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a very good team so it will be challenging.
"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Reviewed
The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.
Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, though it was ex- 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 qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet played Wales.
Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group 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 teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after losing.
Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
After taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings 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 crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
