The Welsh team Prepared to Challenge Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Fixture
Wales have won eight of their last 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualification pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any team following 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 commented.
"Many fans were wondering recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters didn't. But for me, that would be amazing.
"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.
"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semifinal Rivals Reviewed
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.
Albania enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a point more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.
Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.
Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
After 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 the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in dramatic style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
