Wrexham’s ‘USA invasion’ has won hearts and minds this summer as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s club continue their seemingly inexorable rise.
Last July’s pre-season got under way at Nantwich Town, whereas this time more than 50,000 were in attendance in North Carolina as the EFL new boys began preparations for life in League Two against Chelsea.
A 4-0 victory against LA Galaxy II followed before taking on Manchester United’s youngsters in San Diego, where Wrexham’s impact meant that, incredibly, they felt like the home team at times.
Goalkeeper Nathan Bishop was booed mercilessly by fans for injuring star striker Paul Mullin, while fireworks and Wrexham celebrations filled the air as Phil Parkinson’s men took a two-goal lead at sold-out Snapdragon Stadium.
Elliot Lee and Aaron Hayden scored before Marc Jurado reduced the deficit for United, only for Sam Dalby to wrap up a 3-1 win after Dan Gore received a harsh-looking red.
McElhenney looked in dreamland as his team soared in San Diego – a night when fellow owner Reynolds was absent due to filming Deadpool 3 in London.
This summer’s US tour is the latest chapter in a remarkable story that has seen Wrexham go from the National League quagmire to become one of the world’s most talked about teams in 30 months.
Reynolds and McElhenney put the club on the map with the critically acclaimed FX docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and have overseen a rapid improvement in fortunes.
The second series starts in September and documents last season’s dramatic National League triumph, when they pipped Notts County to the title and ended their 15 years in non-league.
Viewers across the world have been hooked and Wrexham players have become stars, with thousands of the club’s new fans making journeys from across the US to catch a glimpse of their heroes over the past fortnight.
Keri Eaton, who took the 90-minute flight from Salt Lake City, Utah with husband Todd to be in San Diego, said: “As soon as I heard Rob and Ryan bought the team I did a deep dive.
“I was really excited and kind of just spiralled from there. I watched as many games as I could.
“I like the fact that they were kind of at the top and then have been the underdogs for so long.
“Then to turn around and have owners that come in that are passionate, and not only care about the club but the town. That’s what I fell in love with.”
The American fans’ passion was palpable and their interest visible, with queues for merchandise snaking around the ground. The impressive engagement with fans also came with reminders of their home 3,800 miles away.
Every sign was in Welsh as well as English, with a food truck outside the stadium serving free Welsh rarebit and Welsh cake. Supplies ran out long before kick-off.
Wrexham’s fan fest offered a chance to see if supporters could take a throw-in like captain Ben Tozer and visit a giant mock-up of The Turf – the much-loved pub next door to the Racecourse Ground.
Landlord Wayne Jones features regularly on ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and still struggles to get his head around the whole experience.
“I’m proud, I guess, but it’s just surreal, isn’t it? You know, it’s crazy, it’s bonkers,” he told the PA news agency. “This is the third one now – obviously we had one in Chapel Hill, one in LA and now we’ve got one in beautiful San Diego.
“Bonkers, just insane. Everybody’s enjoying themselves and the weather is a lot nicer here than it is in Wrexham, right? Having a whale of a time.
“People ask me all the time if life has changed. You know, I’m just the same person. I’ll be cleaning the toilets this time next week, for example.
“But I’m in San Diego, with a mock-up Turf with thousands of fans all cheering on Wrexham, so of course life has changed but it’s all for the better.
“All I really cared about was that the football team continues to grow and becomes better, and the town is thriving, and that continues.”
To underline that how surreal Jones’ life has become, Californian brothers David and Chris Hudson were quick to get a photo with the landlord inside the giant mock-up of his pub.
“It’s the real underdog thing,” Chris, from Fresno said of his passion for Wrexham. “I really got into soccer during the pandemic so it just kind of all came along all at the right time for me.
“Then all of a sudden there was this show on TV and then I’m hooked. What can I say?”
David, who lives in Los Angeles, added: “Total underdog story, promotion and relegation.
“I mean, how can you not root for someone in the National League trying to come up? It’s just a great story.”
The pair would wait with bated breath for the next episode to drop on Disney+ and are excited for League Two action after streaming National League games at awkward times.
As for the possibility of Wrexham securing back-to-back promotions, David said: “A lot of the soccer pundits say we have got a chance… Wrexham, I can’t say we.”
Chris – wearing a red Wrexham t-shirt featuring a dragon – interjected, saying as he put a hand on his brother’s shoulder: “Oh no, we’re part of it now.” Ends
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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