FIFA President Gianni Infantino has spoken up for Mexico as a 2026 World Cup host country, even as Mexico grapples with cartel violence in Guadalajara.
But back in the EFL, the pressure is way more immediate. With just five matches remaining in the Championship season, Wrexham is in dire need of a win to keep pace in the race for promotion. After losing to Southampton in midweek, the Red Dragons head to Birmingham on Sunday, chasing something simple on paper: close in on the top six. And yeah, “simple” is doing a lot of work there.
Wrexham’s situation isn’t only about this one fixture. The club has become a story people follow beyond football, in part because of the Hollywood-style takeover. Actors Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds purchased Wrexham in late 2020, and since then the team has gained worldwide notoriety through the FX series “Welcome to Wrexham.” That attention has followed the results too—an upward trajectory that started in the fifth-tier National League and basically refused to stop.
If you look at the timeline since the takeover, it reads like a rise meant for headlines: 2020-21: 8th place, National League; 2021-22: 2nd place, National League (lost playoff to Grimsby Town); 2022-23: 1st place, National League (promoted to League Two); 2023-24: 2nd place, League Two (promoted to League One); 2024-25: 2nd place, League One (promoted to EFL Championship). Now the club is chasing the ultimate goal—an actual place in the English top flight. The thing is, chasing has a habit of catching up fast.
Here’s where Wrexham sits right now. Standings as of April 11 show the top-six picture tightening:
1. Coventry 85 (goal differential 24) — 22 matches played
2. Ipswich Town 75 (goal differential 13) — 40 matches played
3. Millwall 73 (goal differential 9) — 24 matches played
4. Middlesbrough 72 (goal differential 20) — 42 matches played
5. Southampton 69 (goal differential 21) — 41 matches played
6. Hull City 68 (goal differential 4) — 27 matches played
7. Wrexham 64 (goal differential 18) — 41 matches played
8. Derby County 63 (goal differential 8) — 42 matches played
The Championship has 46 league games per team, so the finish line is close enough to hear people talking about it, maybe even outside St. Andrew’s. The top two finishers earn automatic promotion to the Premier League. Places third through sixth go into a playoff—one more promotion spot on the line. That means every point, and every stumble, carries weight in ways that don’t always show up on highlights.
On Sunday, Wrexham will be looking to end a run of one win in four when they visit Birmingham. When: Sunday, April 12. Where: St. Andrew’s (Birmingham, England). Time: 7 a.m. ET. Channel/streaming: Paramount+ (WATCH HERE). And if you’re wondering what a night like this feels like—well, imagine the early scramble, the quiet before kickoff, the faint smell of rain on pavement—then the realization that a single result could reshape the table again, maybe not instantly, but certainly in people’s heads. For Wrexham, that’s the whole point right now, even if the math keeps shifting in the background.