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Wales' focus are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on home soil.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

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

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of fans were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that would be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a strong qualification campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Importantly, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

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

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

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

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but experienced a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship 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 spot in their group in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.