Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Face Whichever Opponent in World Cup Qualifying Fixture

The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will relish a match against any opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be tough.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualifying run, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's prominent players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, 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-match campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost just once in qualifying, and earned a point additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his own.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in 3 of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.