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Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will welcome a tie against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many supporters were asking last night, 'do we really want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so it will be challenging.

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

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a solid qualification run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged 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 scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.