The Welsh team Prepared to Challenge Anybody in FIFA World Cup Playoff Fixture
Wales have won eight of their previous 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final rivals.
After finished as runners-up in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of supporters were asking recently, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters didn't. But for me, that could be fantastic.
"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so it will be challenging.
"However you just feel that we'll take anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Reviewed
Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.
The Albanian national team had a impressive qualification campaign, with their only defeats suffered 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 names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.
Notably, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but still finished two points adrift of their group 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 pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having taken just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott scored 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 Irish surprised Hungary to secure second place in their group in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, 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.