World Cup boost for Liberato Cacace after tough first season at Hollywood-backed Wrexham

Monday, 1 June 2026

Liberato Cacace is set to play his first matches for the All Whites in almost a year this week, on the eve of the World Cup.

He has missed the team’s last eight outings – and most of the English Championship season with Wrexham AFC – due to a series of leg injuries.

He said it had been tough “not only physically, but mentally” not playing.

The FIFA World Cup is the light at the end of the tunnel for Liberato Cacace.

Because his first season at Hollywood-backed Wrexham AFC – the football club at the centre of the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham – did not come close to going the way he'd hoped it would.

A series of injuries to his hamstrings and calves – the first muscle injuries of his professional career – meant he only played in 13 of a possible 53 matches in the English Championship, FA Cup and EFL Cup.

Back fit for the final week of the season, he remained an unused substitute as Wrexham finished two points short of a place in the promotion playoffs, drawing 2-2 with Middlesborough when a win would have put them through at the expense of Hull City, the team that ultimately secured a place in the English Premier League.

Cacace hasn't taken the field since February 7 – almost four months ago – but after arriving in Florida early for his first All Whites camp in almost a year, he is fit and raring to go for their first warm-up match against Haiti in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday (kickoff 12pm Wednesday NZ time).

“I've missed a whole year of being with the national team,' he said on Sunday local time at the team hotel in Boca Raton. ”I'm just happy to be with the boys and reconnect.“

While Francis de Vries has held down the fort at left back during Cacace's injury-enforced absence from the All Whites – with help from James McGarry and Ben Old – there's no doubt the team will be stronger for the presence of its 25-year-old vice-captain.

“It's been tough,' he said of his first season in Wales. “Not only physically, but mentally as well. Accepting all these injuries and dealing with setback after setback.

“I'm in a much better place right now and playing with a smile on my face again and looking to help the team play at a World Cup.”

Cacace's Wrexham move was announced last July while the team were in Wellington playing the Phoenix, the club he came through the academy at, made his debut for as a 17-year-old, then left after two seasons starring as a first-team regular.

But Cacace first learned of interest from the club owned by Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob Mac towards the end of the previous season – his third full season with Italian Serie A club Empoli.

His interest increased once Wrexham were promoted from English League One to the Championship – their third promotion in as many seasons.

A phone call with manager Phil Parkinson sealed the deal and once everything was signed, he was welcomed to the club by one of its celebrity owners.

“I arrived in Wrexham and obviously they were all in New Zealand, so that was kind of weird, but once I signed I got a message from Ryan – a video message. It was really cool – I couldn’t really believe it at the time.”

The clear highlight of Cacace’s injury-hit campaign was his goal in Wrexham’s FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest – the opener in a match that ended 3-3 before Wrexham won in a penalty shootout.

At the start of the year he looked to have put his injury woes from late 2025 behind him, but a hamstring issue sidelined him in February, and his return was then delayed by a calf issue.

Cacace said at first he thought the injuries were “a blip”.

“Then I just got stuck in a cycle where I couldn’t get a string of games where I was fit. That’s just the honest truth. I couldn’t stay fit for more than two weeks, so it was really tough mentally.

“I had great support around me, with my family and with my girlfriend. They got me through those tough times, to make sure that I could be strong again.

“It’s been tough accepting how the season has been, but I’ve just got to put that all behind me and look forward now.”

Wrexham are well-placed to push for promotion to the Premier League next season and Cacace will be like a new signing when the Championship season starts in mid-August

First, however, comes a tournament he has long dreamed of being part of.

“With how the season has gone for me, it's important for me to just enjoy my football again.”

“Being out for so long, you realise how special it is playing for your country, so I'm definitely going to take every opportunity and give it my all.”

All Whites – 2026 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Goalkeepers: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud

Defenders: Callan Elliot, Tim Payne; Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Nando Pijnaker, Tommy Smith, Finn Surman; Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries

Midfielders: Lachlan Bayliss, Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Eli Just, Ben Old, Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenić, Ryan Thomas

Forwards: Kosta Barbarouses, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Ben Waine, Chris Wood

Fixtures (NZ time)

Friendlies

June 3, 12pm: v Haiti; Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

June 7, 8am: v England; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

World Cup group G

June 16, 1pm: v Iran; SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, California

June 22, 1pm: v Egypt; BC Place, Vancouver

June 27, 3pm: v Belgium, BC Place