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Wales' focus are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await learning their semifinal and possible final opponents.

After finished second in their qualification pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will play the semifinal match on home soil.

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

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

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

"Many supporters were wondering last night, 'do we really want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of people were hesitant. But for me, that would be fantastic.

"So it's that type of situation, yes, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and the Albanians are competitive and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a very good team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their only defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed full points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's prominent names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss 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 squad targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never played the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the group.

Wales have failed to defeat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

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

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their opening three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to take second place in Group F in dramatic style.

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

Ireland are winless in their past 4 encounters with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean broke the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.