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Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 win 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, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will relish a match against any team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of supporters were saying last night, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable names, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.

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

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

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

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

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

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second spot in their group in dramatic fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with Wales, losing three of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.