Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Playoff Fixture

Wales football team celebration

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

The team's sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Ireland, naturally, they are a very good team so it will be difficult.

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

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

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have 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 most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are winless in their past four encounters with Wales, losing three of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

April Powell
April Powell

A clinical psychologist and writer passionate about mental wellness and mindfulness practices.