Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Play-off Fixture

The team's attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After ended second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of fans were asking recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.

Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each times.

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 Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

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

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.