🔗 Share this article

Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final opponents.

After ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of supporters were saying recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so it will be challenging.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Opponents Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's prominent names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After taken just one point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted 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 Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.