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Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal match on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a match against whichever team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of supporters were wondering recently, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland because of that derby feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.

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

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among 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 never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Swiss ended the six-game qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a point more than Wales managed in their eight games, but still ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

Being his nation's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their opening 3 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 the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in dramatic style.

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

Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with the Welsh, losing three of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.