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Wales' attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a tie against whichever opponent after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"Many people were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a strong team so it will be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Reviewed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualification run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K 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 Red and Blacks's prominent players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still finished 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 drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

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

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first three 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 bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.