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Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After ended second in their qualification group thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will play against either the Albanian side, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

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

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

"A lot of people were saying last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that would be incredible.

"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are decent and Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so they'll be challenging.

"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."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal.

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

Notably, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated just once in qualifying, and earned a points additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler 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 beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one jersey his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.