Wales Set to Take on Anyone in FIFA World Cup Playoff Draw

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

Having ended second in their qualifying pool following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie against any opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were saying recently, 'do we really want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But for me, that would be incredible.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Reviewed

Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

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

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's prominent players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling style.

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

Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.