Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Draw

The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

After ended second in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many supporters were wondering last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be tough.

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

Possible Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying run, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions.

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

The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a point additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure second place in Group F in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his own.

Ireland are without a win in their last 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.