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The team's sights are squarely on Thursday's World Cup play-off draw as they await discovering their semifinal and possible final challengers.

After ended second in their qualification group following a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against whichever opponent following their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were asking last night, 'should we really want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. I think a number of supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be incredible.

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

"However the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semifinal Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the world standings, with the Albanian team sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo 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 full points without conceding a solitary goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are among the Red and Blacks's recognizable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who led their scoring chart in qualifying with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, though they featured at the 2016 European Championship and Euro 2024, failing to reach the knockout stages on both times.

While Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with both failing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Swiss finished the six-game campaign three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss was at the hands of the pool winners.

Kosovo include former Manchester City goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a team targeting a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

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

They were 13 minutes away from securing a spot 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 won the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnians in four matches but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons 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, ex- Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The veteran was his team's leading goalscorer in qualifying with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their opening three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the playoffs 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 Irish stunned Hungary to secure second spot in their group in thrilling fashion.

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

Ireland are winless in their last 4 encounters with Wales, losing 3 of those, though James McClean broke the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.