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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.

After finished as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

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

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

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many supporters were saying recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be fantastic.

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

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.

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

Importantly, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured just one point from their first three matches, 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 hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure second place in their group in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing three of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.