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Wales' sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they prepare for learning their semi-final and potential final challengers.

After finished second in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Republic of Ireland in that match on 26 March.

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever opponent after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many people were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters didn't. But for me, that could be amazing.

"It's that type of situation, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they are a strong team so they'll be challenging.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Opponents Evaluated

The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world standings, with Albania 61st, Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and the Kosovan side eighty-fourth.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualification run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum 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 more notable names, though it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, not managing to reach the knockout stages on each occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers 3 points ahead of the Kosovans, whose one loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated only one time in qualifying, and earned a points more than Wales managed in their eight games, but nonetheless ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from clinching a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians meant the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

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

Being his nation's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

Having taken just one point from their first 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take runner-up spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman played a crucial role in his side's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his own.

Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of those, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.