Wales Ready to Take on Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw

Wales football team celebration

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

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

Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were asking last night, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be challenging.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Reviewed

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

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

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

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

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Tracy Becker
Tracy Becker

A passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience covering major leagues and events worldwide.