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Wales' attention are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After finished second in their qualifying pool following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.

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

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

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of supporters were wondering last night, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view many people didn't. But personally, that would be incredible.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a very good team so it will be difficult.

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualifying run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's more notable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the last 16 on each times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

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

Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs 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 surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.