Wrexham v FC Pyunik: All you need to know

Wrexham take on FC Pyunik of Armenia in the UEFA Women’s Champions League first qualifying round semi-final on Wednesday 22 July (KO 19:00). 

The Racecourse will host the historic encounter, as well as the other semi-final in Group 3 earlier in the day – between Glentoran of Northern Ireland and Riga FC of Latvia (KO 13:00). 

The winners of the two ties will meet in Saturday’s final, with the victor of that clash progressing to the second qualifying round. The losers of both semi-finals will meet in the third-place play-off, also on Saturday. 

Wednesday’s tie will be the latest chapter in Wrexham’s rapid rise, with the Red Dragons only promoted to the Genero Adran Premier three years ago. After achieving back-to-back top four finishes in the top-flight, the appointment of Jenny Sugarman as manager last summer took the club to even greater heights. 

The Red Dragons won their first piece of major silverware by defeating Cardiff City on penalties in the Genero Adran Trophy Final in February, before ending the Bluebirds’ three-year grip on the Genero Adran Premier title – sealing top spot with a scintillating 4-1 victory over Iain Darbyshire’s side at The Racecourse. 

Now a UEFA Women’s Champions League debut awaits, with Wrexham only the second women’s side from north Wales to compete in Europe following Bangor City in 2002/03. It is seven years since any Genero Adran Premier team earned a victory in Europe, while the last Welsh club to even score in continental competition were Swansea City in 2021. 

It has been a busy summer in the transfer window for Wrexham, with five new faces through the door so far. Mikayla Cook is a statement arrival from Cardiff City, who she has played for in the Champions League in each of the last three seasons, while Jamaican international Natasha Thomas comes in after 11 years at Ipswich Town where she became the club’s record appearance maker and all-time top scorer. 

New goalkeeper Lucy Farrell, who was called up to the Cymru senior squad in April, provides competition for Liz Craven between the sticks, while Lydia Sallaway, on loan from Aston Villa, and former Cymru U19 international Bella Reidford have further bolstered Sugarman’s squad over the last week. 

As ever, Katie Barker will be one to watch in attack. The former Newcastle United forward, who has taken the number nine shirt at Wrexham this summer following Rosie Hughes’ departure, netted 29 goals in 27 appearances during her debut season in north Wales. Captain Jodie Bartle and Canadian defender Sarah Harvey both have previous experience in the Champions League from spells at Celtic and FC Samegrelo respectively. 

“The Champions League is the pinnacle of club football,” Sugarman said after the draw last month. “Without a doubt, this is something that gives me immense pride and I’m excited to test myself as a head coach in a different competition.  

“The Adran Premier was a new experience for me, so to be able to follow that up with this is incredible. It’s also about us as individuals within all this and enjoying the opportunity that we’ve got.  

“It’s also about how we represent the Club, the town, our fans, but also the rest of Wales. This might be a first time for us, but it isn’t a first time for Welsh teams. We want to make sure we represent the country and make sure we showcase the best of women’s football here in Wales.” 

Wednesday’s opponents FC Pyunik were crowned champions of Armenia for the third consecutive season in 2025/26, after winning all 18 of their league matches while scoring 107 goals and conceding just eight. 

They also recorded their first-ever win in the UEFA Women’s Champions League last year with a 1-0 victory over Bulgaria’s NSA Sofia in the first qualifying round semi-final, before falling to North Macedonian side Ljuboten in the final.

Pyunik’s team is almost exclusively made up of Armenian natives, with four players called up to the country’s squad for friendlies against Kazakhstan and Belarus in June. Chief among them is Veronika Asatryan, who scored 27 league goals last season and also netted the winner in her side’s maiden Champions League victory 12 months ago. 

Luiza Ghazaryan (23 goals last season) and Ani Karapetyan (20 goals last season) are also key names to look out for, but Pyunik did suffer a blow last week as 19-year-old prospect and Armenian international Tatev Khachatryan completed a move to Montenegrin champions ŽFK Budućnost.