Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Take on Anyone in World Cup Playoff Draw
Wales have won 8 of their previous sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.
After finished second in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on their own turf.
They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a tie against any team following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.
"Many fans were wondering recently, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.
"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be difficult.
"But you just feel 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 thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a solid qualification run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Notably, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Swiss ended the six-match qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
After taken just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic style.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing three of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.