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Wales' attention are squarely on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final challengers.

After finished second in their qualification pool following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team after their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many people were asking recently, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby feel?'. In my view many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so they'll be tough.

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

Potential Play-off Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

Albania had a impressive qualifying run, with their only losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

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

While Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in qualifying, and earned a points additional than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their opening three 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 the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

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

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their last 4 meetings with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.