Wales Set to Face Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw
The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches with coach Craig Bellamy
The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.
After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a tie against any opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.
"A lot of fans were asking recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.
"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so they'll be tough.
"However you just feel that we'll take anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."
Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated
Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.
Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three 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 last 16 on both times.
While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.
They have not yet faced the Welsh team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a points additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but still ended 2 points behind of their group 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 won the pool.
Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.
As his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After secured only a single point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.
Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.
The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.