Club World Cup | Juventus 4-1 Wydad: Yildiz shines as Juve power towards knockouts | OneFootball

Juventus overcame a difficult challenge as they defeated Moroccan side Wydad 4-1 this afternoon, all-but qualifying them for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup. A phenomenal strike from Juve starlet Kenan Yildiz was the pick of the bunch as the Turkish winger scored a brace on a chaotic Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.

The result sees Juventus move top of their group on six points, ahead of Manchester City’s match against Al Ain later today. Barring a shock win for Al Ain, the Bianconeri will qualify for the knockout stages – with the top spot the only thing left to determine in their final game against Manchester City.

Relive all the action on our liveblog.

Juventus took control early with an own goal from Abdelmounaim Boutouil opening the scoring just six minutes in. After a clever one-two with Kephrem Thuram, young forward Kenan Yildiz burst into the box and finished with a deflected strike past the goalkeeper.

The Bianconeri nearly doubled their lead moments later, as Yıldız whipped in a dangerous cross that narrowly missed Randal Kolo Muani in the box. Wydad responded with intent, and Samuel Obeng had a decent chance after a mix-up between Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso, though his finish lacked power and was easily saved by Michele Di Gregorio.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 22: Francisco Conceicao #7 of Juventus FC is challenged by Mohamed Moufid #2, Bart Meijers #22 and Oussama Zemraoui #23 of Wydad AC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Wydad AC at Lincoln Financial Field on June 22, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Juventus didn’t let up and extended their lead on 16 minutes with a moment of real quality from Yıldız, who fired a sensational long-range strike into the top corner from the edge of the area after sustained pressure.

Despite being two goals down, Wydad showed resilience. Guilherme went close with a header that forced another good save from Di Gregorio, and Bart Meijers picked up a yellow card as Juventus threatened on the counter.

Wydad eventually found a way through in the 25th minute when Nordin Amrabat played a delightful through pass into the path of Lorch, who calmly slotted past Di Gregorio to halve the deficit and breathe new life into the contest.

Juventus close out game in the second half

Juventus started the second-half strong, dominating Wydad for the opening ten minutes before Andrea Cambiaso hit the post with a close-range volley.

The Bianconeri dominance was eventually rewarded in the 69th minute when Kolo Muani and Yildiz linked up, allowing the Turkish starlet to slot the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 22: Kenan Yildiz #10 of Juventus FC celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with Randal Kolo Muani #20 of Juventus FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Wydad AC at Lincoln Financial Field on June 22, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

With the goal, Wydad lost some of their spirit but all credit goes to the Moroccan fans, who were just as loud then as they were in the opening moments.

Wydad nearly pulled another goal back in stoppage time, with an effort from Mohamed Moufid saved outstandingly by Di Gregorio in the Juventus goal.

Juventus wrapped up the game in the closing moments, with Wydad defender Guilherme pulling down Dusan Vlahovic in the box. The Serbian stepped up to confidently convert the spot-kick and the Old Lady wrapped up a confident victory in Philadelphia.