Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Face Whichever Opponent in World Cup Qualifying Draw

Wales football team celebration

The team has secured 8 of their last sixteen matches with coach Craig Bellamy

Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After ended second in their qualification pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a match against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of supporters were asking last night, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think many people didn't. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back 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 third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second place in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Regina Newman
Regina Newman

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