Wales Prepared to Face Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw
Wales have won eight of their last sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.
Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying group following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal match on their own turf.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against whichever team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many fans were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.
"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.
"However the sense is that we're prepared for 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 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Importantly, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of 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 scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in dramatic style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.
Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
