🔗 Share this article Craig Bellamy's squad Set to Take on Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture The team has secured eight of their recent 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final rivals. Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on home soil. They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March. Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against whichever team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium. "I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said. "A lot of people were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic. "It's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be challenging. "However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy." Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Assessed The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth. Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal. The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals. Importantly, Albania have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions. While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team. The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners. Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance. They have never faced the Welsh team. Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still finished two points behind of their group winners Austria. They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group. Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat. Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player. The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals. And finally, we have Republic of Ireland. After taken only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir HallgrÃmsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take second spot in Group F in thrilling style. Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own. Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.