🔗 Share this article The Welsh team Set to Challenge Anyone in World Cup Playoff Draw The team has won eight of their previous sixteen matches with coach Craig Bellamy The team's focus are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final challengers. Having finished second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on home soil. They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March. Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium. "I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said. "Many supporters were wondering recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that could be incredible. "So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be challenging. "However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy." Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Reviewed Wales sit 34th in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side 84th. The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualification campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal. Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals. Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions. While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo. The Swiss ended the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners. The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance. They have never faced Wales. Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria. They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group. Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat. Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player. The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals. And finally, we have Republic of Ireland. Having secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure second place in their group in thrilling style. Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own. The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing three of these, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.