Wales Prepared to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture

Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many supporters were asking recently, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think many people were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.

"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

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

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

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

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in thrilling fashion.

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

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