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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final challengers.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were wondering recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

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

While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland ended the six-game campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.