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Wales' sights are squarely on the upcoming World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semi-final and possible final challengers.

Having ended second in their qualifying group following a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on home soil.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw believes the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were asking last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of supporters didn't. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"It's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they're a capable team so it will be difficult.

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

Possible Play-off Semi-final Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

Albania enjoyed a solid qualifying campaign, with their only losses suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, Albania have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with each failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a place at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

The Welsh have failed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

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

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

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's revival while Premier League keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last 4 meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.