Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Face Anybody in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured 8 of their previous 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy

The team's sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

After ended second in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final 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.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against whichever opponent after their most recent performance 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 wondering last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be incredible.

"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so they'll be tough.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still finished 2 points behind of their group 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 teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir HallgrĂ­msson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in three of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Carolyn Nolan
Carolyn Nolan

Elara is a seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in bonus optimization and player strategies.