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Wales' sights are firmly on the upcoming World Cup play-off fixture as they await learning their semi-final and potential final opponents.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualification group following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semi-final match on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish a match against whichever team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'bring on anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many fans were asking last night, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be amazing.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Opponents Evaluated

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team had a impressive qualifying campaign, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured full points without allowing a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's more notable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Notably, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured poor runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss was at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift 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 ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's star player.

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

Having taken only a single point from their opening 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in Group F in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his to keep.

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