🔗 Share this article Wales Prepared to Face Anyone in World Cup Qualifying Fixture The team has won eight of their last 16 matches under coach Craig Bellamy Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents. Having ended second in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on their own turf. They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March. Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against any opponent after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium. "I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented. "Many fans were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing. "So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so they'll be challenging. "However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy." Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth. Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered 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 among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 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, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times. As Slovenia and Sweden had difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team. The Swiss ended the six-game campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners. Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance. They have not yet played the Welsh team. Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria. They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool. Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing. Being his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player. The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals. And finally, we have Ireland. After taken just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second place in Group F in thrilling fashion. Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep. Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.