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The team's focus are firmly on Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for discovering their semi-final and potential final rivals.

After finished second in their qualification pool following a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – the side will host the semi-final encounter on home soil.

They will meet either the Albanian side, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo or Ireland in that fixture on 26 March.

Former Wales forward Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will embrace a match against whichever opponent following their most recent performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I'm familiar with Craig Bellamy, I played with him and his approach is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw said.

"A lot of fans were asking recently, 'do we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think many supporters didn't. But for me, that would be amazing.

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

"However you just feel that we're prepared for anybody right now and it doesn't matter, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Reviewed

Wales are placed thirty-fourth in the FIFA standings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a impressive qualifying campaign, with their sole losses coming at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without conceding a single goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and Lazio's Elseid Hysaj are part of the Red and Blacks's more notable players, although it was ex- Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in qualifying with three goals.

It is worth noting, the Albanians have never earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they participated at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the last 16 on each occasions.

As Slovenia and Sweden had poor campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and the Kosovan team.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign 3 points clear of Kosovo, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.

The Kosovan squad feature former Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi – his country's historic top scorer – in a team targeting a first international competition appearance.

They have never played Wales.

Bosnia lost only one time in qualifying, and claimed a point additional than Wales managed in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of their group winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the pair drew in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the group.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnians in 4 attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they qualified for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's all-time top goalscorer and record appearance player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia's key player.

The veteran was his team's top scorer in qualifying with five goals.

Lastly, we have Ireland.

After secured only a single point from their opening 3 qualifiers, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the play-offs with back-to-back wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a hat-trick – with the third goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to take runner-up place in Group F in dramatic fashion.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his side's resurgence while Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting position his to keep.

The Republic of Ireland are winless in their past four meetings with Wales, defeated in 3 of those, although James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a decisive World Cup qualifying match at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.