History will be made for Wrexham at the 2026 World Cup this summer. The Red Dragons have only ever had one active player represent the club on soccer's biggest stage. Now there will be two.
Wrexham were still a National League side during the last World Cup. That makes this summer's representation a genuine marker of how far they've climbed in a short span.
The list looks clean on paper; the hard part is everything that happens after it is printed.
The club's two representatives will play for different nations—Scotland and New Zealand—and Wrexham nearly had five players involved had Wales not fallen to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoffs.
Dom Hyam (Scotland)
Wrexham captain Dom Hyam was a surprise inclusion in Scotland's squad. The 30-year-old center back joined from Blackburn Rovers last year and made just three previous international appearances before this camp.
He earned his first Scotland cap in 2023, then waited nearly three years for his second—which came against Côte d'Ivoire in March. His most recent outing was a 4–1 friendly victory over World Cup debutants Curaçao.
Scotland has never advanced beyond the group stage of a major international tournament. That record is the kind of stat that hangs around a nation's neck no matter how often you try to redefine it.
Fixtures:
- Haiti vs. Scotland — Saturday, June 13 (9 p.m. ET)
- Scotland vs. Morocco — Friday, June 19 (6 p.m. ET)
- Scotland vs. Brazil — Wednesday, June 24 (6 p.m. ET)
Liberato Cacace (New Zealand)
Defender Liberato Cacace was an automatic selection for New Zealand after the All Whites secured qualification. The 25-year-old made just 13 appearances across all competitions in his first Wrexham season, with injuries significantly limiting his impact.
Cacace admitted he found the transition to the Championship "relentless" after previously playing in the slower-paced environment of Serie A with Empoli. New Zealand enters the tournament as the lowest-ranked nation in the field.
They're famously the only unbeaten team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup—drawing all three group-stage matches before elimination. It's the kind of distinction that sounds better than it feels.
Fixtures:
- Iran vs. New Zealand — Monday, June 15 (9 p.m. ET)
- New Zealand vs. Egypt — Sunday, June 21 (9 p.m. ET)
- New Zealand vs. Belgium — Friday, June 27 (11 p.m. ET)
Wrexham's World Cup History
Before this summer, only Dennis Lawrence had represented Wrexham at a World Cup. He featured for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 tournament in Germany, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Bahrain in the intercontinental playoff.
Lawrence started all three of his nation's group-stage matches. Trinidad and Tobago opened with an impressive scoreless draw against Sweden before suffering defeats to England and Paraguay, finishing bottom of Group B.
He left Wrexham shortly after the World Cup, joining Swansea City. In 2019, he was offered the Wrexham managerial position but declined to remain as head coach of Trinidad and Tobago.
The only other Wrexham player to appear at a major international tournament while with the club was Jacob Mendy, who represented The Gambia at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.