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

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many fans were asking recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that could be incredible.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a solid qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than Wales achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the teams tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

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

As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

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

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

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last four meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.