The Welsh team Prepared to Challenge Anyone in World Cup Play-off Fixture

Wales' focus are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final rivals.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match 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 feels the Dragons will relish a match against whichever opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of supporters were saying last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.

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

"But the sense is that we'll take anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper 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 played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted 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 secure second place in their group in dramatic style.

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

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.