đź”— Share this article The Welsh team Ready to Face Anyone in World Cup Play-off Draw The team has secured eight of their last 16 matches with manager Craig Bellamy The team's attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final opponents. Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf. They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March. Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will embrace a match against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium. "I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented. "A lot of supporters were wondering last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing. "So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult. "But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy." Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Reviewed The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th. The Albanian national team had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal. The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals. Notably, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions. While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo. The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners. The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance. They have never faced the Welsh team. Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of their group winners Austria. They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group. The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat. Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player. The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals. And finally, we have Republic of Ireland. After taken only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir HallgrĂmsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary. Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style. Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep. The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.