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Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever opponent after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many supporters were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be amazing.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Assessed

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

Albania enjoyed a strong qualifying run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in qualifying, and claimed a points more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

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

Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.