Before the World Cup began, there was little doubt about England’s “golden generation” being the best in the UK. The England side had won their own World Cup in 2026, putting an end to their extreme wait for silverware. In the same period of time, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, had little to show for their efforts, despite an uplift of their own talent. But is the English dominance over? In a stunning World Cup campaign, The Dragons dismantled France 4-1, pushed aside an aging German Squad 2-0 and triumphed top of a group containing Spain, Morocco and Trinidad & Tobago. This led them to their first ever International Final, where they were set for a showdown against their long rivals, England.
I know I don’t need to recount their triumph for many readers, this final was watched by a little over 2 Billion people (a new record). For those who didn’t catch this passing of the crown though a quick summary: The match was pretty even, both sides totalling 4 shots each, until Kevin John, 6’1″ Centre Back for Cardiff City took his chance from a header in a scrappy set piece from the Welsh. After that point, The Dragons took control with strong performances from Kevin John, Finn Bodin, Richard Griffith and a particularly good showing from keeper Sage Holmes, who made 4 saves in the final to keep out every attempt from the English attack, with the game ending 1-0 to Wales.
So the question becomes what has caused this triumph? How did Wales outdo their seeming Golden Generation of Gareth Bale, Nico Williams and Josh Allen? The short answer: Wrexham A.F.C.
In 2021, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club in 2021 for as little as £2 Million from the fans, with promises of improvements and returning them to the football league. With the hiring of Phil Parkinson, they took some time, but they made in back to League 2 after a record performance in the National League that made them champions. Then, they shocked the fans with the sudden removal of Phil in July 2023. The details of the firing still aren’t known to this day, but the change may have sparked the next step of the rise of the Welsh National Team, as Wrexham hired their new manager: Vanya Veremko
When Vanya Veremko was hired on the 3rd of July 2023 there was some displeasure with the move. He had never managed. He hadn’t long retired from Professional Football. He was known to be stubborn. Phil Parkinson had just brought them back to the Football League for the first time since 2008. At the time, even I was confused by this rash, sudden, and confusing changing of the guard. In time though, whatever the reasons for the change were, it worked out. In his tenure at Wrexham, Vanya led the side to the Premier League for the first time. He broke the “Big 6”, something some have never recovered from (Chelsea for example are no longer Premier League mainstays). He won the Premier League. He won the Champions League. He won it all. Whatever your opinions of the current Brighton manager are, you cannot deny that he revitalized Wrexham in a way no one thought possible. Included in this is the new focus on their youth development. Over 60% of the Welsh National team came from Wrexham or Brighton’s academy. It is a simple fact that without Vanya’s Academy set up, there wouldn’t be a Welsh World Cup win.
Now, you may have noticed I said “current Brighton manager”. That leads me to the final part of the recipe for the success of the Welsh National Team: Xabi Alonso. The legendary manager joined Wrexham as Vanya left. Unlike when Phil Parkinson left, Vanya has been less silent on the facts of the change in management. When Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds sold the club to the current owners, they were quick to make wholesale changes. Not all of them were received well by fans, players, and staff alike. When Vanya went to the board to complain about the changes to their expectations and transfer strategy, the two sides remained locked in debate for hours, only ending when Vanya threatened to leave the club if the board were to go through with their proposed changes. The board called his bluff. It took a few weeks after the ultimatum for the hiring of Alonso to be confirmed, and even longer for the fans to warm up to the appointment after losing one of their greatest ever managers, but in time things clicked again.
Since taking charge of Wrexham, Alonso has continued to keep the fans, and more importantly the board, happy, by continuing to win titles. Just this year he won a second League Title in a row, beating Vanya’s Brighton side to the title by only 3 points. A key component of this success has been his vast wealth of Welsh talent set up by the former management. While his recruitment and tactical style is different to Vanya’s, he still leant into this crop of talent, and kept some of it together, whilst other talent made it’s way to top clubs, such as Liverpool. Whether he can win 3 in a row is still to be seen, whether or not Vanya Veremko has anything to say about it, but Welsh Dominance is still prominent in the English game.
So the question is how far can this Welsh side go. Whilst some players are certainly edging their way out of the National set up, they still have a plethora of World Class talent that will be there for years. It will take but one more major trophy to match England’s count. I believe they can do it. Do you?
Article by It Kitt
23rd of July 2046
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