🔗 Share this article

The team's attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final challengers.

Having finished second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a tie against any team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many fans were saying recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so it will be challenging.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

Wales sit 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.