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Wales' attention are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for discovering their semifinal and possible final rivals.

After finished as runners-up in their qualifying pool thanks to a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will play against either Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Dragons will welcome a tie against whichever opponent following their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"A lot of fans were wondering last night, 'should we actually want Ireland because of that derby atmosphere?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that could be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or the Bosnians and Albania are not bad and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be difficult.

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semifinal Rivals Evaluated

Wales sit thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team had a strong qualification run, with their only losses coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured full points without conceding a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring tally in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet qualified for a World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured torrid runs, with each not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one defeat was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet played the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than the Welsh managed in their 8 games, but still finished two points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the pair tied in the last game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnian side in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his country's historic top goalscorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged 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 arriving in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland surprised Hungary to take second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his team's revival while Premier League goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has secured the number one jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.