The Welsh team Set to Face Anybody in FIFA World Cup Play-off Fixture

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured eight of their last sixteen matches with manager Craig Bellamy

Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

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

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many supporters were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many people didn't. But personally, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's prominent names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Randy Richard
Randy Richard

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