đź”— Share this article The Welsh team Ready to Take on Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Draw The team has won eight of their previous 16 matches with coach Craig Bellamy Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and potential final challengers. Having ended second in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf. They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March. Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a tie against any team following their most recent 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 said. "Many people were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that would be incredible. "It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be difficult. "But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy." Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth. The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal. Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals. Importantly, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions. While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo. The Swiss ended the six-match 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 country's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance. They have never faced Wales. Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria. They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group. The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing. Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player. The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals. Lastly, we have Ireland. After secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure second place in their group in thrilling style. Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his own. The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing three of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.