Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Face Anybody in World Cup Play-off Draw
The team has won eight of their last 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy
Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.
After ended second in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final match on home soil.
They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a match against any team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.
"A lot of people were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.
"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so they'll be challenging.
"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated
Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.
The Albanian national team had a strong qualification campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Notably, the Albanians have not yet qualified 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 times.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.
The Switzerland ended the six-game qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced Wales.
Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a point more than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 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 meant the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.
The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.
Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.
The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.
Having secured just one 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 netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.
Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.