Sports
In Exeter, a match to show how Reynolds and McElhenney have supercharged Wrexham’s rise
At the end of a week when the true impact of Hollywood coming to Wrexham was laid bare by a balance sheet containing almost as many new records as music store HMV, it felt appropriate that the Welsh club should make the long trip to Exeter City.
The Devon club are in their 21st season of fan ownership, the same model that kept Wrexham afloat for more than a decade before Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney rode into town.
Like Saturday’s 2-0 victors, Exeter had a stint in the National League — five years in their case, between 2003 and 2008 — after being taken to the brink of financial ruin by previous owners.
Today, though, the Devon club is rightly considered one of the best-run in the EFL, making the most of limited resources to establish themselves as a League One outfit. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson is certainly a fan.
“This is a good club and it’s total respect over the job they’ve done,” he says. “I love their story with the fan-owned situation and how, like ourselves, this club has had tough times but kept themselves going.”
Exeter’s mid-table standing these past three years is no mean feat in a division that has seen them go up against some relative behemoths, with Birmingham City the latest member of the Premier League alumni to visit St James Park after Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth had all made the trip to the south west.
Wrexham may never have played higher than the second tier in their history, but this week’s revelation about the huge £26.7million turnover generated by last season’s League Two promotion at the STōK Cae Ras means they can be added to any list of League One clubs with exceptional financial muscle.
To put that figure — which is likely to have risen slightly for the current campaign — into context, Portsmouth, champions of this division in 2023-24, raked in £13.6m over the same financial period and runners-up Derby £19.4m.
Exeter’s accounts for the last full financial year are not yet available, but in 2022-23, annual turnover at St James Park stood at £5.8m, including £1.39m in transfer revenue. A profit of £312,000 was made in a season when the club finished 14th in League One.
Such prudency, and in particular the nurturing of young talent to sell on for profit, has characterised this era of fan ownership at St James Park. In the absence of a major benefactor, it has had to.
Sell-on clauses are particularly important, providing Exeter with timely windfalls on top of the initial fees paid for the likes of Ollie Watkins and Ethan Ampadu, sold to Brentford and Chelsea respectively in 2017.
Just two summers ago, Ampadu’s switch from Stamford Bridge to Leeds United earned his boyhood club more than £1m. Jay Stansfield’s move from Fulham to Birmingham City also proved lucrative, with the sell-on clause in his 2019 transfer to Craven Cottage expected to bring in a further £2m.
Not so long ago, a similar level of husbandry seemed to be Wrexham’s only hope of a brighter future after years of mismanagement and poor decision-making had culminated in the fans riding to the rescue in 2011.
For the next decade, the supporters’ trust ran the show with the backing of around 4,000 members paying their annual subs.
On-field success proved just out of reach, Wrexham bagging 98 points in 2011-12, only to be pipped to the Conference title by Fleetwood Town and then losing to Newport County 12 months later in the play-off final. The irony of Fleetwood and, to a lesser extent, Newport both benefiting from a rich backer was lost on no one.
Off the field, however, the trust transformed a club initially losing £750,000 per year to one that was debt-free and had cash in the bank when bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in February 2021.
Once Hollywood had arrived in north Wales, spending restraints went out of the window as the new owners attempted to turbo-charge an escape from non-League via a series of loans.
This ambition remained once back in the EFL, albeit — as the latest set of accounts reveal — with Wrexham now being run along more sustainable lines.
An £11m wage bill in 2023-24 may be beyond the comprehension of not only last year’s League Two clubs, but also most of Wrexham’s divisional peers this time around.
Sealing the win from the spot 👏
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/QpMqN85reC
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) March 29, 2025
But it was made possible by that record-breaking turnover of £26.7m, raised in part by a seven-fold increase in sponsorship income to £13.1m, plus other substantial boosts to matchday and retail receipts.
This new-found sustainability on the back of such huge income levels also brings one very big benefit. Namely, how Wrexham — unlike others in League One, whose business model relies largely on selling players — can hang on to their best talent with a view to pushing even further up the leagues.
The performances of Max Cleworth and Arthur Okonkwo at this level have not gone unnoticed. The duo being calmness personified in the comfortable win over Gary Caldwell’s side will only have sharpened that interest.
Likewise how Sam Smith, Ollie Rathbone (who scored the game’s opener on Saturday), Ryan Longman, Lewis Brunt and George Dobson — all signed in the past 12 months amid a notable shift in recruitment policy that has started to bring the average age down and give the side more mobility — once again underlined their contribution to the promotion push.
The vast financial resources that have allowed Parkinson to recruit such talent mean there’s no real ceiling to how far the Welsh club can go. Unlike, perhaps, Exeter, due to the limitations of a fan-run setup that inevitably go with the commendable aspects, which on Saturday included a team of volunteers clearing rubbish from the stands within 15 minutes of the final whistle.
Wrexham are not fully there on the sustainability front. They did lose £2.7m in 2023-24 and a similar deficit is forecast for this season.
But, after all those years in north Wales of trying to make every pound do the work of a fiver as the supporters’ trust commendably kept the lights on, the time really has arrived for Wrexham to dream big.
(Top photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
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The wait is officially over. The FIFA World Cup has arrived.
For the first time ever, three nations—the United States, Mexico, and Canada are co-hosting the tournament. It is also the largest FIFA World Cup in history, expanding to a 48-team field. Squads from around the world have arrived in North America with one ultimate goal: capturing the iconic World Cup trophy.
Here’s the latest look at some of the most notable news surrounding the World Cup.
June 12:
Official Injury Update On Neymar
Brazilian star Neymar Jr. will officially miss Brazil’s opening match against Morocco on Saturday. Neymar was named to Brazil’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad despite a calf injury, and now won’t be available early on. Manager Carlo Ancelotti said that “Neymar is working very hard to recover as quickly as possible.
“The expectation is that he will recover and rejoin the group next week.”
Google Doodle Has World Cup Fever
In case fans didn’t already have World Cup fever, they can open their web browser.
Google is officially ready for USA’s opener against Paraguay, as the home page features a custom, USA-themed Google Doodle.
The Doodle features red text with a blue outline, as well as a soccer ball along with an interchanging USA crest replacing the “O’s” in Google.
James Cordon Stretches With Christian Pulisic
James Corden joined Christian Pulisic and the United States men’s national team for a training session ahead of their World Cup opener against Paraguay.
After meeting with head coach Mauricio Pochettino and going through a film session with the players, Corden and Co. hit the pitch for practice, where he helped serve as a water boy.
Corden tried to help Pulisic stretch out his legs after practice before he was stopped by a member of the coaching staff. As Corden walked off, Pulisic sprayed him with a water bottle.
DR Congo Arrives to the World Cup in Style
The DR Congo men’s national team isn’t set to play until Wednesday, June 17, against Portugal in Group K, but they’ve already made a statement upon arrival in Houston, Texas.
The squad arrived in style, stepping off the plane in striking black, jaguar-inspired outfits that quickly turned heads. The bold look fits their nickname, Les Léopards, and sets the tone for their World Cup presence before they even face Portugal.
DR Congo may be heavy underdogs, but they’re already winning where it counts off the pitch, taking the fashion battle before kickoff.
Canada’s Jesse Marsch Takes Dig At USA
The Canadian men’s national team is set to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday afternoon. Ahead of the match, head coach Jesse Marsch took a subtle jab at the United States men’s national team during his remarks on Thursday.
“In the U.S., we had to beg players to sing the national anthem,” Marsch said.
The United States conducted a months-long search for a new head coach in 2023, with Marsch emerging as the frontrunner and making it clear he wanted the job. Instead, they chose to rehire Gregg Berhalter, a decision that may have left Marsch with some lingering resentment.
Marsch’s subtle jab could take on added stakes if the United States and Canada meet during the FIFA World Cup. The two nations could potentially face off as early as the Round of 32 or the Round of 16.
June 11:
The pressure of competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is high, but that hasn’t stopped players from enjoying some downtime with their teammates. Norway star Erling Haaland was spotted at the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Haaland appeared to be enjoying himself as the Hurricanes secured a Game 5 victory, taking a 3-2 series lead over the Golden Knights. The Manchester City striker drew plenty of attention from fans in attendance as he took in the action from the stands.
The Norway star was seen celebrating in the stands before turning his attention back to international duty, with Norway set to face Iraq in Group 1 play on Tuesday, June 16.
Australia Coach Popovic Signs Extension
Australia coach Tony Popovic has signed a contract extension through early 2027 on the eve of his team’s World Cup opening match against Turkey on Saturday.
Football Australia said Friday that the 52-year-old Popovic’s deal now extends through the Asian Cup, which will take place in January and early February in Saudi Arabia.
The former Australia international was hired in September 2024 and led the Socceroos to qualification for the 48-team tournament.
“I’m proud to lead my country into a World Cup, but most importantly, I want to ensure that our team is fully prepared and focused on our group matches against Turkey, the United States, and Paraguay,” he said of Australia’s opponents in Group D.
Canada Captain Sidelined For Opening Match
Canada’s captain and star defender Alphonso Davies will miss Canada’s World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Davies’ status has been questionable due to an ACL tear and other injuries during the club season, which limited Davies to appearing in two of Canada’s last 21 games.
Davies is one of the co-host’s more valuable players in terms of talent and experience, including 58 appearances in nine years with the national team. However, Davies’ injury does not rule him out of the entire tournament. His injury update and restraint from the opening match serves as a caution to heal his injury as the group stage unfolds.
After playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS, Davies transferred to Bayern Munich, where he’s played since 2019. Canada is set to play Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12, followed by Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24.
Captain Wataru Endo Withdraws From World Cup
Just ahead of Japan’s opening match against the Netherlands on June 14, captain and midfielder Wataru Endo has withdrawn his name from Japan’s World Cup squad and paired it with his national team retirement, per his statement on X. Endo has been dealing with an ongoing ankle/foot injury since February.
Endo has played for the Japan national team for over a decade, where he made 73 appearances and scored four goals. As a veteran anchor in the midfield, Endo has also served as Japan’s captain since their previous World Cup in 2022, where they reached the Round of 16.
As for Endo’s professional career, he first played for Shanon Bellmare from 2010-15, followed by the Urawa Red Diamonds from 2016-19, VfB Stuttgart from 2019-23 and has played for Liverpool FC since 2023. With Liverpool, Endo played a prominent role in the team’s Carabao Cup victory in 2024.
With Endo out, Japan has officially called Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Shuto Machino to join the 26-man roster. Machino is entering his second World Cup and his fifth year with the Japan national team.
Marco Senesi Called Up To 26-Man Roster
Following the injury of defender Leonardo Balerdi, Argentina has officially called up defender Marcos Senesi to the 26-man roster. Argentina is set to open their World Cup campaign on June 16 against Algeria.
Senesi has been training prior in case of a last-minute call-up, and was named to the roster after Balerdi’s muscle injury was ruled out. Senesi has played professionally since 2016, playing for clubs like San Lorenzo, Feyenoord, AFC Bournemouth and is currently with Tottenham Hotspur.
Joining Senesi in the back are defenders Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi and Cristian Romero.
In what’s likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, Argentina will look to repeat their historic 2022 World Cup win this tournament.
Tyler Adams, USA Celebrate Shocking Knicks’ W
Tyler Adams, United States’ midfielder, is a fan of the National Basketball Association’s New York Knicks. The Knicks are in the NBA Finals, on the eve of the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, so members of the United States’ squad gathered together to watch what turned out to be the largest NBA Finals comeback in history, with the Knicks coming out on top.
When New York won, the room erupted, with Adams especially going wild. And we know this because the reaction was caught on camera in the moment.
That couch is destroyed, but at least no one watching the game ended up as damaged as it did after Adams went climbing and kicking all over it! If the United States ends up having a major comeback or win in the World Cup, maybe keep the players away from any obstacles like that, though. Just to be safe.
Morocco Loses 2 Players To Injury Before World Cup
Morocco replaced two injured players in its World Cup squad ahead of an opening game against Brazil, including star winger Abde Ezzalzouli.
FIFA confirmed late Wednesday that former Barcelona player Ezzalzouli and Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd were withdrawn from the Morocco squad for the tournament.
Ezzalzouli helped Real Betis qualify for next season’s Champions League and was a potential breakout star at the World Cup. Aguerd was a cornerstone of Morocco’s historic semifinals team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They were replaced by Amine Sbai of French club Angers and Marwane Saadane, who plays in Saudi Arabia for Al Fateh.
Morocco opens against Brazil on Saturday at MetLife Stadium near New York, then plays Scotland on June 19 near Boston and finishes Group C against Haiti on June 24 in Atlanta.
Ezzalzouli injured his right knee in a warmup game against Norway last weekend, though initial tests suggested he could be retained in coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad to play in the knockout rounds.
Surprise World Cup Comeback For Austrian Midfielder
The last time Dejan Ljubicic played for Austria was nearly three years ago. Now a teammate’s injury has given him a surprise comeback at the World Cup.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick called up Ljubicic late Wednesday to replace key midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, who injured his right thigh while warming up for a pre-World Cup friendly against Tunisia last week and needed surgery.
Ljubicic is set to join Austria at the team camp in Santa Barbara on Thursday, ahead of the team’s first game on Tuesday against Jordan. Austria also plays Argentina and Algeria in Group J.
He’s more of a defensive midfield option than Baumgartner, who scored 17 goals in all competitions for Leipzig in Germany last season and has remained in camp to support the team.
Ljubicic also plays in Germany on the Schalke team which secured promotion from the second division last month.
Ljubicic has nine games for Austria but none at a major tournament. His last appearance was in a friendly against Moldova in September 2023, and he wasn’t in the squad for any World Cup qualifiers.
CHICAGO — Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup Friday against the White Sox after exiting the game before with discomfort in the back of his left knee.
Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani had imaging done on the knee and showed “the normal wear and tear.”
“He feels fine-ish,” said Roberts, who hopes Ohtani will be back in the lineup this weekend. Ohtani remains in line to make his next pitching start on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.
Especially at this point in the season, the Dodgers have incentive to play it safe with Ohtani’s recovery. Pushing him to return early and exacerbating the injury would be a larger blow to a team seeking its third straight World Series championship.
With Ohtani out, left fielder Alex Call was in the leadoff spot, and Santiago Espinal served as the designated hitter.
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With the largest World Cup field in the history of the tournament, 32 of the 48 teams will be fighting for a spot in the knockout stage.
66.6% of nations will advance out of the group stage this summer, which is a massive upgrade from 50% in past World Cups. Because of this, sportsbooks have adjusted with less favorable odds.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, England, and Germany entered with the strongest odds to advance from the group stage, supported by recent major-tournament success and talent-rich rosters.
All five nations are heavily favored at -10000 to advance to the knockout round.
The Spaniards are the defending European Champions while the Argentinians are looking to win back-to-back titles. Germany has not made it out of the group stage in the last two World Cups, but has always been a perennial contender— having won four titles in its history. And then of course there’s Brazil, which has more titles than any country with five.
Now, after the conclusion of the first day of the World Cup, Mexico has joined the group at the top. El Tri has surged to -10000 to advance to the knockout stage after initially being just -1400. Mexico’s huge leap up the oddsboard is a direct result of its dominating 2-0 win over South Africa.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the odds for each team to advance to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as of June 12.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Odds to Advance to Knockout Stage
Spain: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Argentina: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Brazil: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
England: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Mexico: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Germany: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Portugal: -5000 (bet $10 to win $10.20 total)
France: -5000 (bet $10 to win $10.20 total)
Belgium:-3500 (bet $10 to win $10.29 total)
South Korea: -2500 (bet $10 to win $10.40 total)
Switzerland: -1800 (bet $10 to win $10.56 total)
Netherlands: -1400 (bet $10 to win $10.71 total)
Morocco: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Colombia: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Uruguay: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Canada: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Ecuador: -900 (bet $10 to win $11.11 total)
Norway: -900 (bet $10 to win $11.11 total)
United States: -750 (bet $10 to win $11.33 total)
The U.S. men’s national team is currently -750 to advance from Group D (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images).
Croatia: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Austria: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Türkiye: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Ivory Coast: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Japan: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Egypt: -340 (bet $10 to win $12.94 total)
Algeria: -310 (bet $10 to win $13.23 total)
Scotland: -310 (bet $10 to win $13.23 total)
Senegal: -230 (bet $10 to win $14.35 total)
Sweden: -230 (bet $10 to win $1435 total)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: -220 (bet $10 to win $14.55 total)
Paraguay: -205 (bet $10 to win $14.88 total)
Iran: -200 (bet $10 to win $15 total)
Czechia: -165 (bet $10 to win $16.06 total)
Ghana: -140 (bet $10 to win $17.14 total)
Australia: -110 (bet $10 to win $19.09 total)
DR Congo: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
Raúl Jiménez helped propel Mexico to a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (Photo by Yair Gonzalez/Jam Media/Getty Images).
Saudi Arabia: +105 (bet $10 to win $20.50 total)
Tunisia: +140 (bet $10 to win $24 total)
New Zealand: +150 (bet $10 to win $25 total)
Uzbekistan: +180 (bet $10 to win $28 total)
Cape Verde: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Panama: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Qatar: +275 (bet $10 to win $37.50 total)
South Africa: +320 (bet $10 to win $42 total)
Jordan +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Iraq: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
Haiti: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Curaçao: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
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