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Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final challengers.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on home soil.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were saying last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.

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

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

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

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

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second place in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.