The English Championship has quietly become a practical training ground for Canadian and American internationals preparing for the 2026 World Cup. Liam Millar, now a seasoned presence at Hull City after spells with Liverpool, FC Basel, Charlton Athletic and Preston North End, offered a blunt assessment of the competition.

“The Championship is one of a kind,” Millar says, after a long pause. “It’s a league where, genuinely, you don’t need to play good soccer. You just need to know how to win, and I think we’ve figured that out exceptionally at Hull City.”

His view captures why North American players have migrated to the second tier. Prior to the 2025–26 season, Patrick Agyemang, Haji Wright and Daryl Dike found Championship clubs. The winter window added Cyle Larin and Ali Ahmed. In total, six Canadians and seven Americans are active in the league; five of those players, including Millar, Ahmed, Larin, Agyemang and Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris, were in March international camps as they build toward the World Cup.

On the surface the Championship ranks highly in global competition. Opta’s League Power Rankings placed it 10th in the Top 30 leagues in November. Beyond rankings, players point to the league’s pace and physicality and the straight path it offers toward Premier League exposure.

Ahmed, who joined Norwich City from the Vancouver Whitecaps after scoring in the 2025 MLS Cup final, calls the new league “brutal” and “cutthroat,” and added: “We might not play well all the time, but we’re learning how to win, and in the end, that’s really what matters in the Championship.” He has four goals and three assists in his first 15 appearances for the Canaries. Millar added: “You don’t always have to outperform the other team,” Millar says. “Playing the Championship, it’s tough, it’s challenging, it’s not easy … Ali and Cyle are there now; they’re both doing very well, but the longer it goes on, the harder it gets.”

Strikers have seen particularly rapid returns. Derby County paid upwards of $8 million for Agyemang after his MLS form and Gold Cup showing; he has 10 goals in 36 games for Derby. Haji Wright has 16 goals in 27 league matches for Coventry City. Larin, at Southampton, has four goals and an assist in 11 games and said, “I’m happy to be scoring goals again,” Larin said. “I went through a difficult period in my football career… nobody always stays scoring goals, and you can have your down moments, and mine was longer.”

Wrexham continue to defy expectations in the Championship, but the task of reaching the Premier League remains steep. Automatic promotion requires finishing in the top two and, with Coventry City appearing increasingly secure at the summit, Wrexham sit ten points behind second-placed Middlesbrough. Closing that gap would demand an almost flawless run.

The automatic route is therefore improbable. The more credible aim for Phil Parkinson’s squad is the playoffs. The teams finishing third to sixth in the second tier enter a knockout route consisting of a two-legged semi final and a final at Wembley to determine the third promoted club.

Current standings among the top dozen underline the challenge. Coventry City top the table on 77 points; Middlesbrough are second on 70. Ipswich Town and Millwall occupy the next spots on 68 each, while Hull City sit on 63. Southampton and Wrexham are both on 60 points, but Southampton hold the superior goal difference.

Wrexham were close to holding sixth place earlier in the week but lost that position when Southampton moved ahead. Southampton have the goal differential advantage to push Phil Parkinson’s to seventh. Derby County, Watford and Birmingham City are also chasing the same places and keep the race congested.

Fixture congestion does not help. Wrexham have eight Championship matches remaining following a setback at Watford. Only three of those games will be at the Racecourse Ground; five are away fixtures. The schedule includes matches against fellow hopefuls and difficult opponents, with key late fixtures against Coventry City and Middlesbrough.

Remaining fixtures
March 21: Sheffield United (A)
April 3: West Bromwich Albion (A)
April 6: Southampton (H)
April 11: Birmingham City (A)
April 18: Stoke City (H)
April 21: Oxford United (A)
April 25: Coventry City (A)
May 2: Middlesbrough (H)

There is no magic points tally that secures a place in the Championship playoffs, but recent seasons suggest three or four more victories would likely be enough. Last term the sixth-placed side finished on 68 points, the lowest across the past five seasons, though 70 points is often required by those who make the playoffs.

Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of Wrexham, has publicly endorsed the club’s aspirations to reach the Premier League, arguing that it would be “foolish not to aim” for the top flight. Speaking ahead of the Welsh derby, a match he and Mac commentated, Reynolds reflected on the rapid ascent of the club and the long-term target.

On Sky Sports he said: “You have high expectations in long term, but our goal was to listen and learn and at that point, you don’t know what you’re saying, if that’s just going to sound preposterous or naive.” He added: “But our goal was always the Premier League. I mean, we’d be foolish to not aim for that. I didn’t think we would be here this quickly; however, sometimes the ball bounced our way. Other times, this team’s grit, determination and character is what really kind of pushed them across, even more so than just skill.”

After securing an automatic bid to the Championship for the 2025–26 season, Wrexham were widely dismissed as genuine challengers in England’s second tier, let alone contenders for a top-six finish. The Red Dragons, strengthened by new arrivals over the summer, endured a difficult start but gradually stabilised and produced a respectable return in their first Championship campaign in 43 years.

With nine games remaining, Phil Parkinson’s side sit sixth, occupying the final playoff place and holding a narrow three-point cushion over seventh-place Southampton. The position leaves little margin for error as the season approaches its conclusion.

Reynolds has signalled he will follow the promotion push closely while leaving tactical and selection matters to the club’s coaching staff. “Phil Parkinson has done a phenomenal job, and I think the best thing we’ve done as co-chairmen has been to leave the football decisions to the people who understand the game better than we will ever understand it, and that’s sort of been the secret sauce,” he said.

Reflecting on his involvement with the club, the 49-year-old described the experience as singularly fulfilling. “It’s been, easily for me, I’ll say, the most rewarding professional experience of my entire life, and emotional, too,” Reynolds revealed on commentary during the club’s 2–0 win over Swansea City on Friday.