The Welsh team Ready to Take on Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw
The team has secured eight of their previous 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final opponents.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying group following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of supporters were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.
"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be challenging.
"However you just feel that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Assessed
The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
Albania had a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a points more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four attempts but did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
As his nation's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
