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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After ended second in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will embrace a tie against whichever team following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of people were saying last night, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many people didn't. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be tough.

"However the sense is that we'll take anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.

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

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival 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 last four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.