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Wales' focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they await discovering their semi-final and possible final opponents.

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

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will embrace a tie against whichever opponent following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of people were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think many supporters were hesitant. But personally, that could be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they are a capable team so it will be challenging.

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

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a solid qualification campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley'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 striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with three goals.

Notably, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid campaigns, with both failing to win a qualification match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a point additional than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but still 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 pair tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

As his country's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

The 39-year-old was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After taken just one point from their first three qualifiers, 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 hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one position his to keep.

Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.