Wydad look to bounce back against Juve

Phil Foden of Manchester City (L) in action against Oussama Zemraoui of Wydad AC (R) during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 soccer match between Manchester City and Wydad AC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 18 June 2025. EPA/WILL OLIVER

by Graeme Jackson

Sunday Jun 22, 2025. 11:04

Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca will look to bounce back in the FIFA Club World Cup when they face Italian heavyweights Juventus in a Group G clash, set for the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday 22 June. Kick-off is at 6pm CAT.

Wydad got their CWC campaign off to a losing start last Wednesday when they were outclassed 2-0 by Manchester City. Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku scored the goals for the Premier League side.

The Red Castle coach Amine Benhachem was left disappointed by the result against the Citizens, but still praised his players for implementing their game plan.

“I’m sorry for the Wydad fans and the Moroccans. We wanted to make them proud with a good result, especially those who were there [in person]. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but at least we played with our identity,” explained the Wydad tactician.

“We knew it would be difficult to take the ball away from them. So we chose to give them possession and focus on the spaces.”

He added: “I told the players: be brave, even if you lose the ball and we concede, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is to play without fear, with our style. It is better to lose with our principles than to suffer without reacting.”

Wydad will face a similarly challenging task in trying to overcome Juve, who opened their campaign with an emphatic 5-0 win over Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates to sit top of the Group G standings.

Randal Kolo Muani (2), Francisco Conceicao (2) and Kenan Yildiz shared the goals, as the Bianconeri put down a statement of their intent.

“I felt like the team really cared about this match, they were really motivated. They were on their mettle. They have that desire,” said coach Igor Tudor.

“There was lovely energy between the players who desire to work hard for one another, to run for one another. I felt that really came through, and I think the players felt that among themselves too.

“We are going in the right direction. There’s always things you need to improve upon; a team is a living being, it’s never the same from one day to the next.”

Wydad will hope to secure a positive result against Juve to keep themselves in contention for progression, with the final round of Group G matches on Thursday pitting them against Al Ain in Washington DC, while the two European giants will face off in Orlando.