The Welsh team Set to Take on Anybody in World Cup Play-off Draw

The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final opponents.

After finished second in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were asking last night, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Assessed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualification run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

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

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-game campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still finished 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one 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 third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.