🔗 Share this article

Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view a number of people didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be tough.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team had a strong qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley'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 chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings 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 decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.