Wales Set to Face Anyone in World Cup Playoff Draw
The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.
After ended second in their qualification group thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.
They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.
"Many supporters were asking recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be incredible.
"So it's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be difficult.
"However the sense is that we'll take anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Reviewed
Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a first major tournament appearance.
They have never played the Welsh team.
Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
Being his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
After taken only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson'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 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 thrilling style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered 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.