Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Take on Whichever Opponent in World Cup Qualifying Draw

Wales football team celebration

The team has won 8 of their previous 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy

The team's focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will welcome a match against whichever opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so it will be tough.

"But 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."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of their group 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 last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side 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.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back 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 arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Eddie Martinez
Eddie Martinez

A passionate writer and life coach dedicated to sharing wisdom on positivity and success.