🔗 Share this article

Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

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

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of people were saying recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be incredible.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, 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 targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and earned a point additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift 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 meant the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.