The Welsh team Ready to Take on Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured 8 of their previous 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy

The team's attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a match against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of people were asking recently, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be incredible.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so they'll be tough.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania 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 had poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of their group winners Austria.

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

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second spot in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Marissa Swanson
Marissa Swanson

A passionate journalist and digital storyteller with a knack for uncovering viral trends and engaging narratives.