Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Take on Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has secured 8 of their previous sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final opponents.
After finished as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.
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 match against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.
"Many fans were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that would be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be challenging.
"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Assessed
Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.
The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a World Cup, though 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 torrid campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-match campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss came at the hands of the group winners.
The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet played Wales.
Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.
Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.
The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
After taken just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored both 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 take second place in Group F in dramatic fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with Wales, losing 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.
