Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Challenge Anyone in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw
Wales have won eight of their recent 16 matches with coach Craig Bellamy
The team's sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.
After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.
They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.
Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a match against whichever opponent after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.
"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.
"A lot of people were saying recently, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.
"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be difficult.
"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."
Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Assessed
The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.
The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.
The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.
Notably, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.
As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.
The Switzerland ended the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.
Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.
They have never played the Welsh team.
Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.
They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.
The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.
As his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.
The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.
And finally, we have Ireland.
After secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.
Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure second place in Group F in dramatic style.
Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.
The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.