The Welsh team Prepared to Take on Anybody in World Cup Playoff Draw

The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.

After finished second in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on home soil.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were wondering last night, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many people didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be tough.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Assessed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of their group 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 meant the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

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