Wales Ready to Take on Anybody in FIFA World Cup Play-off Fixture

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

After finished second in their qualification pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will relish a tie against any team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many supporters were wondering last night, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be difficult.

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

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

Wales are placed 34th in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.