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Wales' sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup play-off fixture as they await discovering their semifinal and potential final opponents.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying pool following a dominant 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales forward Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will embrace a match against any team after their latest result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many fans were saying recently, 'do we actually want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that would be incredible.

"So it's that type of situation, indeed, we're ready for the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are decent and Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be challenging.

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anyone at the moment and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

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The Welsh squad are placed thirty-fourth in the world rankings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and the Kosovan side 84th.

The Albanian national team had a solid qualifying run, with their only defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a solitary goal.

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

It is worth noting, Albania have never qualified for a World Cup, although they participated at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had torrid campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign 3 points ahead of Kosovo, whose one defeat came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature ex- Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and claimed a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the finals, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable loss against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's key player.

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

Lastly, we have Republic of Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in thrilling style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman played a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

Ireland are without a win in their last four encounters with the Welsh, defeated in three of these, although James McClean broke the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.