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

The team's sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After finished second in their qualifying group thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a match against whichever opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be tough.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying run, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's prominent names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring 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 featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot 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 topped the group.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in their group in thrilling style.

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

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with Wales, losing 3 of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.