The Welsh team Ready to Face Whichever Opponent in World Cup Play-off Draw

The team's sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.

Having finished second in their qualification group following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a tie against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of supporters were wondering last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think many people were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so they'll be tough.

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

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualification run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a team aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

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

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.