The Welsh team Set to Challenge Whichever Opponent in World Cup Playoff Draw

Wales' sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will relish a tie against any opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of supporters were asking recently, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so they'll be challenging.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with Wales, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.