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Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.

Having ended second in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will relish a tie against any team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"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 Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

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

Albania had a strong qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in qualifying with three goals.

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

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a points additional than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss 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 record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

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