The Welsh team Ready to Take on Anyone in FIFA World Cup Play-off Fixture

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured 8 of their previous 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy

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

After ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will welcome a tie against whichever team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many people were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we'll take anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

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The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrĂ­msson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back 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 Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Ricky Barnes
Ricky Barnes

A passionate writer and tech enthusiast sharing personal insights and practical advice for modern living.