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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semifinal and potential final rivals.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever opponent following their most recent 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 fans were saying last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be difficult.

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's prominent names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have never qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but still ended two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour 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 topped the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship 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 dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.