🔗 Share this article

Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.

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

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against any team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many people were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be difficult.

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

Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualification run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, 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 earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

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

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.