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Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they await learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

Having finished second in their qualification group thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on home soil.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw believes the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against whichever opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so they'll be challenging.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding 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 names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Notably, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland ended the six-match campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

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

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after losing.

As his nation's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take second place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his side's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.