Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Take on Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture

Wales football team celebration

The team has secured 8 of their last 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy

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

Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever team following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were asking recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so it will be challenging.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing three of these, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Amanda Johnson
Amanda Johnson

Environmental scientist and advocate for green living, sharing expertise on sustainability and eco-innovation.

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