The Welsh team Set to Challenge Anybody in World Cup Play-off Fixture

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

After ended as runners-up in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a match against any team following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of supporters were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

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

Albania had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his country's historic 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 team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second place in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.