🔗 Share this article The Welsh team Prepared to Challenge Anyone in FIFA World Cup Playoff Draw Wales have won 8 of their recent sixteen matches under coach Craig Bellamy The team's focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semifinal and possible final challengers. Having ended as runners-up in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf. They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March. Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will relish a match against any team after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium. "I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated. "A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible. "So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so it will be tough. "However the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy." Potential Play-off Semifinal Rivals Assessed The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth. Albania enjoyed a solid qualifying run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal. The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals. It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions. While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo. The Swiss finished the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners. The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance. They have never faced Wales. Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria. They were a quarter of an hour 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 qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group. The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat. Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player. The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals. And finally, we have Ireland. Having secured only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive 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 arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style. Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own. Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, although 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.