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The team's attention are firmly on the upcoming World Cup playoff fixture as they prepare for learning their semifinal and potential final challengers.

Having ended as runners-up in their qualifying pool thanks to a decisive 7-1 victory over North Macedonia – their largest success since 1978 – Wales will host the semifinal encounter on home soil.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Welsh squad will welcome a match against whichever team after their most recent result at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I know Craig Bellamy, we were teammates with him and his mindset is 'give us anyone, we're ready'," Earnshaw commented.

"Many people were asking last night, 'should we actually want Republic of Ireland as it's that local atmosphere?'. In my view many supporters were hesitant. But for me, that could be fantastic.

"It's one of those, indeed, we'll take the Kosovans or Bosnia and Albania are competitive and Ireland, naturally, they are a very good team so it will be difficult.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anybody at the moment and we're confident, and a lot of that is down to Craig Bellamy."

Possible Playoff Semifinal Rivals Assessed

The Welsh squad are placed 34th in the world rankings, with Albania sixty-first, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia seventy-fifth and Kosovo eighty-fourth.

Albania had a solid qualification campaign, with their sole losses suffered at the hands of Group K winners England, who claimed full points without allowing a solitary goal.

Burnley's Armando Broja and the Serie A side's Elseid Hysaj are among the Albanian squad's recognizable players, although it was former Inter Milan, Barcelona and Watford striker Rey Manaj who topped their goal tally in the qualifiers with three goals.

It is worth noting, Albania have not yet earned a spot for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at the 2016 European Championship and the 2024 Euros, failing to reach the knockout stages on each times.

As Slovenia and Sweden had difficult campaigns, with both not managing to win a qualifying match, Group B was a direct battle between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match campaign three points clear of Kosovo, whose one defeat was at the hands of the group winners.

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

They have not yet faced the Welsh team.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost only one time in qualifying, and earned a point more than the Welsh achieved in their 8 games, but nonetheless ended 2 points behind of Group H winners Austria.

They were a quarter of an hour away from securing a spot at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians meant the pair tied in the last game of qualification and Ralf Rangnick's team won the pool.

Wales have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a memorable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for the 2016 European Championship under Chris Coleman despite losing.

Being his country's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, ex- Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, now at Fiorentina, is unquestionably Bosnia's star player.

The 39-year-old was his squad's leading goalscorer in qualifying with 5 goals.

And finally, we have Republic of Ireland.

Having secured only a single point from their first 3 matches, Heimir Hallgrímsson's side stormed into the playoffs with successive wins against Armenia, Portugal and Hungary.

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before scoring a triple – with the final goal arriving in the 96th minute – as the Irish stunned Hungary to secure second spot in Group F in dramatic fashion.

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

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their last 4 encounters with the Welsh, losing three of those, though James McClean shattered the hopes of the Red Wall as Martin O'Neill's men won a crucial World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.