🔗 Share this article

Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and potential final rivals.

Having finished second in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many supporters were asking recently, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that would be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so it will be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

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

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match 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 Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former 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 qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second spot in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing three of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.