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

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his approach is 'give us whoever, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"A lot of people were wondering recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland because of that local atmosphere?'. In my view a number of people were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for Kosovo or Bosnia and the Albanians are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a capable team so they'll be difficult.

"But you just feel that we'll take anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

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Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA rankings, with Albania 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania enjoyed a impressive qualification run, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum 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 prominent players, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on both occasions.

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

The Swiss finished the six-match qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo feature former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad targeting a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost just once in the qualifiers, and earned a points additional than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless finished 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

Wales have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but experienced a memorable loss against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his nation's all-time leading scorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's standout player.

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

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first three matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure runner-up spot in their group in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's resurgence while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with the Welsh, defeated in 3 of these, 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.