Tonight's visitors Latvia may be ranked 133 in the world - below the likes of Faroe Islands and Antigua and Barbuda - but they come with their own hopes of qualification and spoiling the party in Cardiff.

During their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign they held the likes of Norway, Turkey and Montenegro to draws - all of which were away from home.

In that campaign they also never lost by more than two goals and only conceded more than two goals on one occasion - a 3-3 draw with Turkey.

Last week they faced the Republic of Ireland in a friendly and were narrowly beaten 3-2 having come from two goals down to be level at half time.

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Nathan Blake
Former Wales striker on BBC Radio Wales

Gareth Bale is one of the best players in the world we have got to that our lucky starts that he's welsh and we had him.

Life after Gareth Bale is always going to difficult, you don't replace world class players like that with a click of your fingers.

Iwan Roberts
Former Wales striker on BBC Radio Cymru

Some of these lads who have waited a long time, Nathan Broadhead, Tom Bradshaw they see this as an opportunity for themselves now and it is one hopefully they can grasp with both hands.

Gareth Bale will not be in the starting 11 for Wales today but he will get his moment on the pitch before kick-off today.

Wales' men's record goalscorer retired in January, but is at the Cardiff City Stadium this evening so the home crowd can show their appreciation for his wonderful career.

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Helen Ward
Former Wales striker on BBC Radio Wales

In any game to score late in the day and snatch a point is great, but to do it to such a big team, it puts a whole new light on this game.

Now we think anything less that four points is really disappointing having got that one in Croatia.

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Aaron Ramsey says earning a last-gasp draw against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia has helped Wales to move on from their World Cup disappointment.

Wales were playing for the first time since the the World Cup where they were eliminated at the group stage.

"It was important to get a point on the board and get some momentum," he said.

"For us to put what happened in the World Cup behind us now and look forward again, it was important for us to get that result.

"Now we need to take care of our home games, which we have done well in previous campaigns."

Wales boss Page knows his side must beat Latvia tonight to back up their point in Croatia.

Read more: Wales aim to reach expectations against Latvia

Aaron Ramsey says his son, Sonny, will join him as he leads Wales out to face Latvia this evening.

Ramsey replaced Gareth Bale as Wales captain, with Ben Davies - who is missing through injury - becoming vice-captain.

Former Wales defender Neil Taylor is enjoying his first foray into coaching and hoping to play his part in helping the next generation of Welsh players.

Taylor called time on his 15-year playing career in November 2022.

He is now assistant to Wales Under-21s boss Matty Jones, whose side beat Scotland 3-0 on Sunday.

"We're at a crucial point for Wales over these next four or five years in terms of turning players over and getting them ready to play with Page," Taylor told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"It's about letting them know what they need to do.

"We have something called the Welsh way here which is implemented all the way through from Victory Shield age all the way up.

"Hopefully that gives us the best chance of getting boys into the first team."

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In this post-Gareth Bale era, Wales will have to look to the next crop of players to step up.

And it has been a successful few days for Wales' men's sides at all age levels.

As well as the senior side's draw in Croatia, Matty Jones' Under-21s beat Scotland 3-0 in a friendly in Spain.

And earlier today Wales' Under-17s side qualified for the Uefa European Under-17 Championships for the first time.

They came from 2-0 down at half-time to earn a point against Montenegro to secure qualification.

Image source, FAW

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' last-ditch draw in Croatia has proven there can be a bright future without their retired former captain Gareth Bale, says manager Rob Page.

Bale, 33, is Wales men's top scorer with 41 goals but retired in January.

"There is life after Gareth, absolutely," Page said.

"Gareth's moments of individual brilliance will forever be remembered by Wales supporters.

"But was he at an age at the end, where he could press for 95 minutes? Probably not, I know I couldn't at his age when I was playing.

"Now we have the opportunity to get young, energetic players on the pitch and still have a go with half-an-hour left.

"Wes Burns, Sorba Thomas and Tom Bradshaw didn't stop running, they gave us the chance to freshen things up, up top."

Read more: Wales show there is life after Bale

Wales and Croatia weren't the only teams in action on Saturday from Group D of qualification.

Turkey had to come from behind away against Armenia to win 2-1 in Yerevan.

Turkey and Croatia - likely Wales' two biggest rivals for qualification - face each other this evening.

Kick-off for that game is the same as it is here in Cardiff, so we will bring you key updates from that game as we go.

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Ipswich Town's Nathan Broadhead was the unlikely hero on the weekend.

The 24-year-old was emotional after scoring the late equaliser against Croatia in Split.

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Before we focus on the task ahead for Wales this evening, a word has to be said about the weekend's game in Split, Croatia.

In their first game since the retirement of Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny Williams - as well as dealing with multiple injuries - Wales travelled to Split without huge expectations.

The World Cup semi-finalists were the better team for long periods, particularly in the first half, but Rob Page's men fought to the final minute.

And in that final 60 seconds up stepped Nathan Broadhead on his Wales debut to poke in at the back post to earn Wales a most valuable point in this qualification campaign.

Croatia have still never lost a home European qualification game, but a draw in what is, on paper, the toughest fixture in the group is almost the perfect start for Wales.

Read more: Late Broadhead goal earns Wales point in Croatia

Michael Pearlman
BBC Sport Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium

Lativa make one change from the side beaten in a friendly by Republic of Ireland as Marcis Oss comes in for Daniels Balodis.

We are expecting Latvia to play a formation you might have heard of if you are over 30-years old, 4-4-2.

Image source, BBC Sport

Michael Pearlman
BBC Sport Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

Wales boss Robert Page has unsurprisingly opted to make no changes to the side that found an unlikely point in Split.

Injuries to Ben Davies, Wayne Hennessey and Brennan Johnson have somewhat limited his options.

Forward Nathan Broadhead is again named on the bench, with Mark Harris and Liam Cullen left out of the match day squad.

Good evening, noswaith dda, and welcome to Cardiff City Stadium as Wales prepare for their first home game of this Euro 2024 qualification campaign.

Rob Page's side earned a dramatic point away at World Cup semi-finalists Croatia on Saturday - more on that in a bit - and will be hoping to follow up that with a victory over Latvia this evening.

The visitors were not in action at the weekend, so for Dainis Kazakevics' men this is the start of their campaign.

Stay with us for all the build up and live updates throughout the match.

Let's start with a look at the teams!

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency