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Wales' attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will embrace a match against whichever team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'bring on whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of fans were saying recently, 'do we actually want Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are not bad and Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

Importantly, Albania have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match qualifiers 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

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

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

As his nation's historic top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second spot in their group in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing 3 of these, although James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.