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

Having finished second in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a match against any opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of fans were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so it will be difficult.

"But the sense is 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 are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

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

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 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 drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina'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 taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing three of these, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.