The Welsh team Set to Challenge Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Draw

The team's sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were saying last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could 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 strong team so they'll be difficult.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

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

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second place in their group in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although 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.