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Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were saying recently, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be challenging.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying run, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

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

The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point additional than Wales managed in their eight games, but still ended 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first three 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 the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.