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Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a match against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were wondering recently, 'should we really want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many people didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be tough.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

Wales sit 34th in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying run, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's prominent players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their past four encounters with Wales, defeated in three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.