The Welsh team Ready to Take on Anybody in FIFA World Cup Play-off Draw

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured eight of their recent 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy

The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final challengers.

Having finished second in their qualification pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will embrace a match against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult.

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

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Assessed

Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

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

Notably, the Albanians have never qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-game qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.

Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with Wales, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Courtney Castro
Courtney Castro

A tech enthusiast and gamer who shares insights on game development and innovative tech trends.