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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final encounter on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a match against any opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many fans were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that would be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a impressive qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable names, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated 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 runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling style.

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

Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of these, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.