Manager Chris Coleman has described it as "the biggest game our country's ever been involved in" and the most significant since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Back then Wales were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Brazil, courtesy of a single goal from Pele, then only 17 years old.
Today they will meet the team ranked second in the world who will have the backing of huge support in a French city just 10 miles from the Belgian border..
Around 20,000 Welsh fans were expected to travel from the UK to follow the only home nation left in the competition
Flights, ferries and Eurostar trains have been full of the travelling supporters, with no reports of trouble and the British police praising the Welsh fans' behaviour in France as "exemplary".
On the field the team have already exceeded expectations, winning their group despite losing to England, and beating Northern Ireland in the last 16 in Paris last weekend to reach this stage.
Inspired by Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid forward who has scored three goals, they have shown a resilience and organisation that speaks of a fierce team spirit.
Belgium will provide their stiffest test yet, drawing on a generation of rich talents, many of them familiar from the Premier League, who have been tipped for greatness for several years.
Chelsea stars Eden Hazard and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku and Manchester City forward Kevin de Bruyne are all likely to feature.
They face a defensive crisis, however, with former Arsenal player Thomas Vermaalen suspended and Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen ruled out with an ankle injury.
Wales are unlikely to be overawed, having beaten Belgium in Cardiff and drawn in Brussels in qualifying for the tournament, although Coleman is drawing no comfort from those results.
"What I will be telling my players is that the games we've had in the past count for nothing," he said.
"This is a quarter-final, we are in the knockout stage. It's an isolated game, there will be no second chances, no taking a draw or fighting another day.
"At the end of the night one team will be going home and we don't want it to be us."
Belgium might be the favourites but Hazard said his side are not taking anything for granted.
"We always seem to struggle to score against Wales," he said. "They have a big defensive block at the back and a superstar up front."
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