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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter 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 striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will relish a tie 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 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of fans were wondering recently, 'do we really want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Play-off Semi-final Opponents Reviewed

Wales sit 34th in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualification run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both not managing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland ended the six-match qualifiers 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour 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 qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his country's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.