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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever opponent following their latest result 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 said.

"Many fans were saying recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult.

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses suffered 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 Red and Blacks's more notable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper 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 never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and claimed a points more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his country's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, 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 final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, losing three of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.