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Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final challengers.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

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

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

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many people were saying recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the last 16 on each times.

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

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a point more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with Wales, losing 3 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.