đź”— Share this article Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Challenge Whichever Opponent in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Fixture The team has won 8 of their recent 16 matches under manager Craig Bellamy The team's sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semifinal and possible final opponents. After ended second in their qualifying pool following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf. They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March. Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium. "I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented. "A lot of supporters were wondering recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of people didn't. But personally, that could be amazing. "So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be challenging. "However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy." Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo 84th. The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying run, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal. The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals. Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions. As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo. The Swiss ended the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the pool winners. Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance. They have not yet faced the Welsh team. Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria. They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group. The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat. As his country's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player. The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals. Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland. Having secured just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship 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 dramatic fashion. Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep. The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing three of those, though James McClean broke 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.