The Welsh team Set to Face Anybody in FIFA World Cup Play-off Draw

Wales football team celebration

The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy

The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many supporters were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Maria Davis
Maria Davis

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