World Cup 2026: Dean Brennan is so proud of humble Scotland defender Dom Hyam

It’s been a long way from Hemel Hempstead to Haiti for Dom Hyam – and we’re not talking about a 5,000-mile trip across the Atlantic.

Back in the winter of 2015, Hyam made 14 National League South appearances for Hemel Hempstead Town as a teenage rookie on his first loan from Reading.

Yet in seven days’ time, the 30-year-old will face Haiti in Massachusetts in Scotland’s opening game of the World Cup.

It caps an incredible journey for the Wrexham defender, who also spent time on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge, Basingstoke and Aldershot Town before getting his big break at Coventry City in 2017.

Over the moon

And according to his old gaffer at Vauxhall Road, Dean Brennan, Hyam fully deserves to take his place on the big stage, where Steve Clarke’s men will also take on Morocco and five-times champions Brazil.

“I’m over the moon for Dom,” said Brennan, now managing Barnet in League Two. “Seeing good lads and good players do well always brings a smile to your face.

“Dom was a great kid. Very humble and respectful. On the pitch, you could see he had ability.

“He was aggressive, he was physical. He scored a couple of good goals from corners and read the game brilliantly.

“But most Under-21s at that level are good players. What marks out the ones who have a future in football is their application.

“It’s their attitude to work, their willingness to listen and to learn and their hunger to improve.

“I call those players low maintenance and Dom was extremely low maintenance.

“He was so, so professional, even at that age. He’s got the armband at Wrexham now and I bet Phil Parkinson loves him.

“The only real question for me was whether he’d fill out and be athletic enough, but there was never any real doubt given how hard he works.

“And the lovely thing is, he hasn’t changed. I bumped into him in Dublin not long ago and he greeted me exactly the same way he did back then.

“He’s a terrific fella and it’ll be brilliant to see him play in a World Cup.”

WORLD CUP BOUND: Former boss Dean Brennan hails Dom Hyam’s journey from Hemel Hempstead Town to the Scotland squad
PICTURE: Alamy

Humble roots

Brennan believes Hyam’s humble roots illustrate the strength of the Pyramid in England – and why it is the best in the world.

“It’s the greatest,” says the Irishman, who also managed Kingstonian, Billericay and Wealdstone before joining Barnet in 2021.

“The absolute greatest. And it should never be allowed to change.

“We all know the big powerhouse clubs at the top of the game would like to introduce B-teams into the EFL.

“But I guarantee you a young lad is going to learn so much more going on loan to somewhere like Hemel, playing what I call mortgage football alongside lads playing to put a roof over their families’ heads.

“If those lads don’t perform, they don’t get a contract at the end of the season.

“If I don’t get results as a manager, I’m fired. Those are brilliant lessons to learn, and for someone like Dom at 18 or 19, they can set you up for life.”