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Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After ended as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of supporters were asking last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But for me, that would be amazing.

"It's one of those, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Rivals Reviewed

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

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

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his country'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 squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in thrilling style.

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

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although 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.