Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Challenge Whichever Opponent in World Cup Playoff Draw

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured eight of their previous sixteen matches under manager Craig Bellamy

Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final opponents.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were asking last night, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a strong qualification campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still finished 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

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

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their opening 3 matches, 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 scoring a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second place in their group in dramatic fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Jonathan Monroe
Jonathan Monroe

Elara is a certified life coach and writer passionate about helping others unlock their potential through mindful living and goal-setting strategies.