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Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semifinal and potential final challengers.

Having ended second in their qualification pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a tie against any opponent after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of people were saying last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that would be incredible.

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

"However the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad aiming for 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 eight games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with successive 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 Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in their group in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing three of these, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.