Craig Bellamy's squad Prepared to Take on Anybody in FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw

The team's focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

Having finished second in their qualifying pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on home soil.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

Wales are placed 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among 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 qualifying with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.