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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final rivals.

After ended second in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a tie against whichever opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.

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

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualifying run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on each times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured just one point from their opening 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 scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.