🔗 Share this article

Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

Having finished second in their qualification pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many supporters were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However 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 Semi-final Rivals Assessed

Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a impressive qualification run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia lost just once in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his country's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.