World Cup qualifiers: Wales coach Craig Bellamy highlights the threat facing Bosnian Edin Dzeko

Wales is seeking to qualify for two consecutive World Cups for the first time, having previously played in the 1958 and 2022 finals.

They finished second in Belgium’s direct qualifier in Group J, securing home advantage in the play-off semi-finals with a 7-1 win over North Macedonia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked second behind Austria in a group that also included Romania, Cyprus and San Marino, and Dzeko scored five goals out of 17 he scored in eight matches.

“Bosnia has been good watching so far,” Bellamy said.

“It will be a tough game. They are very good physically and well organised [and] Good on both boxes. They don’t need a lot of chances to score.”

Bellamy will announce his squad for the match on Tuesday, March 17, boosted by the return to fitness of Premier League players Harry Wilson and Daniel James.

His counterpart, Sergej Barbarez, has a few players from Europe’s top leagues to rely on as Bosnia looks to reach the World Cup for only the second time since becoming an independent football nation, following the breakaway of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.

“They always produced players for Yugoslavia before the split, but a lot of their players are born elsewhere now, like Sweden or Germany,” Bellamy added.

“So their football education is through high-level countries and then they return to Bosnia to represent the country. Their quality and football IQ are very high.”

The playoff winners will face co-host Canada in Toronto on June 12, Switzerland in Los Angeles on June 18, and Qatar in Seattle on June 24.