Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Face Whichever Opponent in World Cup Play-off Fixture

Wales football team celebration

The team has won eight of their last sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy

The team's attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After finished second in their qualification group following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will welcome a match against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many supporters were wondering last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However 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."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Reviewed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualifying run, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

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

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed 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 triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

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

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with Wales, losing three of those, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Ethan Cannon
Ethan Cannon

Tech strategist and writer with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and startup ecosystems.