The Welsh team Set to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Draw

Wales football team celebration

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

The team's sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

Having ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final match on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a match against whichever team following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so they'll be tough.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

Wales are placed 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker 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 Republic of Ireland.

After secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs 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 stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

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

Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 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.

Mark Williams
Mark Williams

Elara is a passionate hiker and writer who documents her wilderness expeditions and shares insights on sustainable travel.