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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and potential final rivals.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie against whichever opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many people were wondering recently, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team had a strong qualification campaign, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign 3 points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in their group in dramatic style.

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

Ireland are winless in their past 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.