Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Challenge Whichever Opponent in World Cup Playoff Draw

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

Having ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of supporters were saying recently, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many people were hesitant. But for me, that would be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualification run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 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 drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.