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Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final opponents.

After ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on home soil.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovan team or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a match against whichever team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of fans were wondering recently, 'do we really want Ireland because of that local feel?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a capable team so it will be tough.

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

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's recognizable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet earned a spot for a World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to reach the last 16 on both occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualification match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose single defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but experienced a memorable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman even after losing.

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

The veteran was his team's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in thrilling style.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.