Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Challenge Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture

Wales football team celebration

Wales have won 8 of their recent sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy

The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

After finished second in their qualifying pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a tie against any team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many people were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so they'll be challenging.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a strong qualifying run, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a 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.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but still ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second place in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Ana Noble
Ana Noble

A financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and personal finance coaching.