Kenan Yildiz netted twice and assisted once as Juventus defeated Wydad Casablanca 4-1 in the Club World Cup on Sunday to move closer to a last-16 spot. The Turkish international striker was unfortunate not to be officially credited with Juve’s early opening goal that ended up going down as an own goal by Abdelmounaim Boutouil. But there was no shadow of doubt that Yildiz had scored the second with an immense shot from the outside of the box. One in return was made by Thembinkosi Lorch for Wydad before half-time, but Yildiz scored his second of the day on 69 minutes before Dusan Vlahovic’s late penalty sealed the win for the Italian team.
Juventus on Brink of Knockout Stage After Back-to-Back Wins
Having already beaten Emirati counterparts Al Ain 5-0 on match day one, Juve have nine goals and the maximum six points after two matches in Group G. Their knockout stage place will be guaranteed if group rivals Manchester City don’t lose to Al Ain later on.
That leaves Igor Tudor’s Juve in a great position with a last group game to play on Thursday against City in Orlando.
Moroccan giants Wydad, on the other hand, are out with this loss after a 2-0 defeat to City in their opening game.
Yildiz Stars Again for Juventus at Lincoln Financial Field
Yildiz, the 20-year-old German-born winger, was one of the goal scorers against Al Ain and he starred here in front of 31,975 supporters at Lincoln Financial Field.
Juve, who secured fourth position in Serie A in the recently concluded campaign, opted with an unchanged line-up so the likes of Manuel Locatelli and Vlahovic started the game on the bench.
Braceful against Al Ain, they did not waste time in slicing and dicing the third-placed team in the Moroccan league.
Juventus Maintains Control with Clinical Finishing
The first goal arrived after six minutes when Khephren Thuram set up Yildiz and his shot found the net via a minimal deflection off Boutouil beating goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid.
It was 2-0 on 16 minutes through a wonderful effort, as Andrea Cambiaso embarked on a sharp run in from the left before playing the ball inside for Yildiz to strike in a half-volley shot on the half-volley into the top corner.
Wydad soon pulled one back as veteran Nordin Amrabat’s good pass in behind the defence released South African winger Lorch to bring control and clip the ball past the goalkeeper.
But Juventus were firmly in control and Cambiaso struck the post just before the hour as Randal Kolo Muani seemingly failed to convert Lloyd Kelly’s ball across the box.
Vlahovic Adds Final Touch
Their third goal came just past the half-way point in the second half when France striker Kolo Muani picked up possession on the left and then played in Yildiz who shot into the corner.
It was his third of the tournament thus far, and his 12th overall across all competitions since the start of the season.
Substitute Vlahovic had replaced Yildiz before the fourth goal came in stoppage time, as he calmly stroked home a spot-kick after being pulled back by Guilherme Ferreira.
