Wales Prepared to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final rivals.
After finished second in their qualifying group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many people were asking last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that could be amazing.
"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be challenging.
"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed
The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's prominent names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have never played the Welsh team.
Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.
Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.
As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
Having taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.
Ireland are winless in their past 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 decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
