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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final opponents.

After ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many people were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.

"But you just feel that we'll take anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still ended two points behind of their group 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 tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

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

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.

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