Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Challenge Anybody in FIFA World Cup Playoff Fixture
The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final challengers.
Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a tie against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of people were asking last night, 'should we actually 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.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.
"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated
The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.
Albania had a impressive qualification run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
Importantly, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet played Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot 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 won the pool.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.
The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
After secured only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
