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

After ended as runners-up in their qualifying group thanks to a decisive 7-1 win over North Macedonia – their largest win since 1978 – the side will host the semifinal encounter on their own turf.

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

Ex- Wales striker Rob Earnshaw feels the Dragons will welcome a match against any team after their latest performance at Cardiff City Stadium.

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

"Many fans were asking recently, 'should we really want Ireland as it's that local feel?'. I think many people were hesitant. But personally, that would be fantastic.

"So it's one of those, indeed, we'll take Kosovo or the Bosnians and Albania are decent and Republic of Ireland, naturally, they're a strong team so it will be tough.

"But the sense is that we're prepared for anyone right now and it doesn't matter, and much of that is because of Craig Bellamy."

Potential Playoff Semi-final Rivals Evaluated

The Welsh squad sit thirty-fourth in the FIFA rankings, with the Albanian team 61st, Republic of Ireland sixty-second, Bosnia-Herzegovina 75th and Kosovo 84th.

The Albanian national team enjoyed a strong qualifying run, with their sole defeats suffered at the hands of their group winners England, who claimed maximum points without allowing a solitary 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 forward Rey Manaj who topped their scoring chart in the qualifiers with three goals.

Importantly, the Albanians have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, although they featured at Euro 2016 and the 2024 Euros, not managing to advance to the knockout stages on both occasions.

While Slovenia and Sweden endured difficult campaigns, with each failing to win a qualifying match, their group was a straight shootout between Switzerland and Kosovo.

The Switzerland finished the six-match qualifiers three points ahead of the Kosovans, whose single loss came at the hands of the group winners.

Kosovo include ex- Manchester City keeper Arijanet Muric and La Liga's Vedat Muriqi – his country's all-time top scorer – in a team aiming for a maiden major tournament appearance.

They have never faced Wales.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were defeated only one time in the qualifiers, and earned a point more than Wales managed in their 8 games, but still ended two points adrift of their group winners Austria.

They were 13 minutes away from securing a place at the World Cup, but Michael Gregoritsch's equaliser for the Austrians ensured the teams drew in the final game of qualifying and Ralf Rangnick's team topped the pool.

The Welsh have failed to beat the Bosnian side in four attempts but did have a unforgettable defeat against the Dragons as they earned qualification for Euro 2016 under Chris Coleman even after the defeat.

As his nation's all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, currently with Fiorentina, is undoubtedly Bosnia-Herzegovina's standout player.

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

Lastly, we have Ireland.

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

Troy Parrott netted the two goals against Euro 2016 winners Portugal before bagging a triple – with the final goal coming in the 96th minute – as the Republic of Ireland stunned Hungary to secure runner-up place in Group F in dramatic style.

Key player Seamus Coleman had a vital role in his team's revival while Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has made the starting jersey his own.

The Republic of Ireland are without a win in their past four encounters with Wales, defeated in three of these, though James McClean shattered the hearts of the Welsh fans as Martin O'Neill's team won a decisive World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium in 2017.