Wales Set to Take on Anyone in World Cup Play-off Draw

Wales football team celebration

The team has secured eight of their recent 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy

The team's sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.

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

They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a tie against whichever opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think many people didn't. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so it will be challenging.

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still ended two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir HallgrĂ­msson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.

George Brown
George Brown

A passionate gamer and tech enthusiast, Elara shares her experiences and insights to inspire others in the digital world.