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Wales' attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final rivals.

Having ended second in their qualification pool thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

They will meet either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a tie against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many supporters were saying recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be challenging.

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Opponents Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

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

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the knockout stages on each times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor runs, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

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

Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still ended two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their opening three qualifiers, 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 bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

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

Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with the Welsh, losing three of these, 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.