The Welsh team Set to Challenge Anyone in FIFA World Cup Play-off Draw

The team's sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final challengers.

After finished as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against any opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many supporters were saying recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be tough.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of their group winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

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

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

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered 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.