Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Face Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Play-off Draw

Wales football team celebration

Wales have secured eight of their previous 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy

Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of people were asking recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters didn't. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Assessed

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's prominent names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a point more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

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

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing three of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

Ashley Smith
Ashley Smith

A passionate gamer and strategy expert with years of experience in competitive gaming and content creation.