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Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

After finished as runners-up in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were asking recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered 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.