🔗 Share this article

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

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a match against whichever opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many fans were asking recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But for me, that would be amazing.

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

"But you just feel that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying run, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on each times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place 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 topped the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four attempts but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken 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 hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

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

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.