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Wales' attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they await learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

After ended second in their qualifying pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal match on their own turf.

They will face either the Albanian side, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against any opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his mentality is 'bring on whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw stated.

"A lot of supporters were asking last night, 'do we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local feel?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so it will be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semi-final Opponents Assessed

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's more notable players, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to advance to the last 16 on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured poor campaigns, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-game campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one loss came at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's historic leading goalscorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift 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 meant the teams drew in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in 4 matches but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial role in his side's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are winless in their last four meetings with the Welsh, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.