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Wales' sights are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and possible final challengers.

Having finished as runners-up in their qualification group thanks to a commanding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will play the semi-final encounter on their own turf.

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

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will relish 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 'give us whoever, it doesn't matter'," Earnshaw said.

"Many fans were asking recently, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that derby atmosphere?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, yes, we're ready for Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are competitive and Republic of Ireland, of course, they're a very good team so it will be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

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The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland 62nd, Bosnia 75th and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole defeats coming at the hands of Group K winners England, who secured maximum points without conceding a single goal.

The Premier League's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Albanian squad's prominent names, though it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Notably, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on both times.

As Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult runs, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-game qualifiers three points clear of the Kosovans, whose single defeat came at the hands of the pool winners.

The Kosovan squad include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his nation's all-time top scorer – in a team targeting a maiden international competition appearance.

They have never faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia lost only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a points more than Wales achieved in their 8 games, but still finished two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from clinching a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's leveler for the Austrians ensured the teams tied in the final game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have not managed to defeat the Bosnian side in 4 matches but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite the defeat.

Being his country's historic leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia-Herzegovina's star player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

And finally, we have Ireland.

After taken only a single point from their first three qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott scored both goals against the 2016 European Championship winners Portugal before scoring a hat-trick – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in their group in dramatic style.

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

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