Birmingham City earned their first win of the 2026–27 EFL Championship season with a 2–1 victory away at Wrexham. The third-round match was played on August 28, 2026.
Seung-ho Paik began the match among the substitutes rather than in the starting lineup. He came on in the 74th minute for Jay Stansfield. Match records and multiple reports confirm that Paik entered the game in the 74th minute.
The key points are Birmingham’s first league win and Paik’s appearance as a substitute.
Phil Neumann’s brace delivers a 2–1 win
Both of Birmingham City’s goals were scored by Phil Neumann. Neumann opened the scoring in the 13th minute and found the net again in the 63rd minute. Wrexham briefly pulled one back through Callum Doyle in the 54th minute, but Birmingham held on to their one-goal lead.
Birmingham drew 0–0 with Sheffield United and 2–2 with Bristol City after the season opened. They then secured their first win after three Championship matches.
What Paik’s appearance record shows
His appearance against Wrexham was reported as his first substitute appearance in five competitive matches of the 2026–27 season. However, this is based on a single Newsis report, so official match records should be checked further before assessing his complete season appearance record.
At the same time, this match alone cannot establish Paik’s position in the starting-lineup competition or the manager’s intentions. The verifiable fact is that Paik started among the substitutes and came on in the 74th minute for Jay Stansfield.
Sources and verification time
- Sky Sports, ‘Wrexham 1 - 2 Birmingham - Match Report & Highlights’ — https://www.skysports.com/football/wrexham-vs-birmingham-city/report/560533
- Football Web Pages, ‘Sky Bet Championship | Wrexham 1-2 Birmingham City’ — https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/match/2026-2027/championship/wrexham/birmingham-city/571257
- FOX Sports, ‘Wrexham vs. Birmingham City - Final Score’ — https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/english-championship-wrexham-vs-birmingham-aug-28-2026-game-boxscore-900035
- Newsis, ‘Birmingham, with Seung-ho Paik coming on as a substitute, beat Wrexham 2-1 for first league win in England’s second tier’ — https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260829_0003767776
The sources above were checked as of August 29, 2026, at 14:50 UTC. Birmingham City and official EFL match pages were not found during this review.