Craig Bellamy's squad Ready to Face Anybody in World Cup Qualifying Fixture

Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many fans were asking recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But for me, that would be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

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Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with Wales, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.