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Wales' focus are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and possible final rivals.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"Many fans were saying recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"But you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo 84th.

Albania had a solid qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

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

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a squad targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but still finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The 39-year-old was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take second spot in Group F in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his to keep.

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