Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Face Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has secured 8 of their recent sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.
Having ended second in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.
"Many people were saying last night, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But for me, that could be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be challenging.
"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed
Wales are placed 34th in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.
It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with both failing 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 one loss was at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never played Wales.
Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.
As his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward 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.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After secured just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson'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 bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.
Ireland are without a win in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 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.
