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Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on home soil.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever team following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be challenging.

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

Possible Play-off Semi-final Opponents Assessed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 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 their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.

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

Notably, Albania have never qualified for a World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-match qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two 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 pair tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.