Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Challenge Anybody in FIFA World Cup Play-off Fixture
Wales have secured eight of their last 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.
Having finished second in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf.
They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.
"Many fans were asking last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.
"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so they'll be challenging.
"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Assessed
The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.
Albania had a strong qualification run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.
Importantly, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Swiss ended the six-match qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.
They have not yet faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.
Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
As his country's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
Lastly, we have Ireland.
After taken just one point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with the Welsh, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.