Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Face Anybody in World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have won 8 of their previous 16 matches with coach Craig Bellamy
Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and possible final challengers.
Having finished second in their qualification pool following a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.
They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against any team after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many supporters were wondering recently, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult.
"But the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
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Wales are placed 34th in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a strong qualification campaign, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.
Importantly, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.
The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points additional 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 place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.
As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance 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 the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in their group in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.
Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
