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

The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final challengers.

After finished second in their qualifying pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will embrace a match against whichever opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of people were wondering last night, 'should we really want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.