Wales 1-0 Latvia: Kieffer Moore header enough to win Euro qualifier

Wales beat Latvia 1-0 in Euro qualifier.

Wales beat Latvia 1-0 in Cardiff on Tuesday night thanks to a 41st minute header from Kieffer Moore.

The hosts started brightly in what was their first game in Cardiff since last year's Qatar World Cup.

After former talisman Gareth Bale had been presented to the crowd, Robert Page's side took control of the game from the start.

The first chance fell to Harry Wilson in the fifth minute. Daniel James raced beyond his man on the far side with relative ease and his low cross was met by his fellow winger. But Pavel Steinbors in the Latvian goal was equal to it to the effort from inside the box.

Wales worked other openings in the first 15 minutes but the crosses narrowly missed striker Moore's head twice.

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After much huff and puff, and 68% of the possession, Wales took a 1-0 lead in at half time. Credit: PA Images

Goalkeeper Danny Ward was then called into action when Marcis Oss got on the end of a whipped corner around the penalty spot. The Canton Stand breathed a sigh of relief as the ball cannoned off Ward to safety.

Moore then missed a golden opportunity when he got his header horribly wrong from 10 yards out and he then scraped the paint of the post with a curling effort from outside the box. Around the half hour mark, you sensed it might be a night of frustration for the hosts despite their relative dominance.

Wilson was then shown a yellow card for a perceived elbow on Latvian skipper Antonijs Cernomordijs, who went down holding his face. Replays showed there was no contact.

Shortly after, referee Giorgi Kruashvili gave a goal kick to the visitors despite a fairly clear deflection and tension grew.

But five minutes before the break, Moore found the release valve. He rose at the back post after James dug out a cross on the far side and nodded the ball into the Latvian net.

A 41st minute header secured the win for Wales. Credit: PA Images

After much huff and puff, and 68% of the possession, Wales took a 1-0 lead in at half time.

Neco Williams forced a stunning save out of Steinbors early in the second half, with the Latvian stopper tipping a thunderbolt destined for the top corner onto the cross bar.

The second half ticked by without much to report. Wales were unable to create clear cut opportunities and the longer it went without the men in red extending the lead, the more nervous the stadium got.

An air of desperation crept into Wales' play in the final third of the pitch as Latvia, for all their limitations, pressed with energy.

It was not as comfortable as it might have been but Wales saw the rest of the game out without suffering any major damage and finished their first block of Euro 2024 qualifiers with a creditable four points from a possible six.