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The team's sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff draw as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final opponents.

After finished second in their qualifying pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 triumph over North Macedonia – their biggest win since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final match on their own turf.

They will face either Albania, Bosnia, the Kosovan team or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales striker Rob Earnshaw thinks the Welsh squad will welcome a tie against any team following their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many fans were wondering last night, 'do we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many supporters didn't. But personally, that could be incredible.

"It's that type of situation, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and the Albanians are competitive and Ireland, of course, they're a strong team so it will be tough.

"But the sense is that we'll take anyone at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Possible Play-off Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

Wales are placed 34th in the FIFA standings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia-Herzegovina seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualifying run, with their only losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio'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 led their goal chart in the qualifiers with 3 goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both times.

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

The Swiss ended the six-match campaign three points ahead of Kosovo, whose single loss was at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad include former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time leading goalscorer – in a squad aiming for a first major tournament appearance.

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia were defeated just once in the qualifiers, and claimed a points more than the Welsh managed in their eight games, but nonetheless finished two points adrift of Group H winners Austria.

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

The Welsh have not managed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but experienced a unforgettable loss against Zmajevi as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his nation's historic leading scorer and record appearance player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having secured just one point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side surged into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish surprised Hungary to take second spot in their group in dramatic style.

Talisman Seamus Coleman had a crucial 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 four meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's team won a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.