KENAN YILDIZ scored two goals and had a hand in another as Juventus beat Wydad Casablanca 4-1 at the Club World Cup on Sunday to close in on a place in the last 16.

The Turkish international forward was unlucky not to be credited with Juve’s early opener, which went down as an own goal by Abdelmounaim Boutouil.

However, there was no doubt that Yildiz was the scorer of the second with a tremendous strike from outside the box.

Thembinkosi Lorch pulled one back for Wydad before the break, but Yildiz got his second of the afternoon on 69 minutes before a late Dusan Vlahovic penalty sealed the victory for the Italian side.

Having already defeated the Emirati side Al Ain 5-0 in their opening match, Juve have scored nine goals and have the maximum six points after two outings in Group G.

Their qualification for the knockout phase will be assured if group rivals Manchester City avoid defeat against Al Ain later.

That puts Igor Tudor’s Juve in an excellent position with a final group game to come on Thursday against City in Orlando.

“I’m happy. It was not easy. It was hot, but it was a good win. At the end, our quality came out,” Tudor told broadcaster DAZN, before hailing the performance of Yildiz.

“He has great potential. He has a lot of skills, but more important than skills is his brain, which is the key. A wonderful player, so there is a big future in front of him.”

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Meanwhile, Moroccan giants Wydad are eliminated with this defeat following a 2-0 loss at the hands of City in their first outing.

Yildiz, the 20-year-old German-born winger, was among the scorers against Al Ain, and he was the star of the show here in front of 31,975 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

Juve, who finished fourth in Serie A in the campaign just finished, went with an unchanged starting line-up, meaning the likes of Vlahovic and Manuel Locatelli began the game on the bench.

Prolific against Al Ain, they wasted no time in putting the team that finished third in the Moroccan league to the sword.

The opening goal came on six minutes as Khephren Thuram teed up Yildiz, and his shot beat goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid with the aid of a slight deflection off Boutouil.

It was 2-0 on 16 minutes via a superb effort, as Andrea Cambiaso went on a piercing run in from the left before laying the ball off for Yildiz to smash in a shot on the half-volley into the top corner.

Wydad quickly pulled one back as veteran Nordin Amrabat’s fine pass in behind the defence released South African winger Lorch to control and clip a shot past the goalkeeper.

Yet Juventus were well on top and Cambiaso hit the post just before the hour mark, before Randal Kolo Muani somehow failed to turn in Lloyd Kelly’s ball across the face of goal.

Their third goal arrived just after the midway point in the second half when France forward Kolo Muani collected possession on the left and then slipped in Yildiz, who finished into the corner.

It was his third goal at the tournament so far, and his 12th in all competitions since the season began.

Yildiz had been withdrawn before the fourth goal arrived in stoppage time, substitute Vlahovic stroking in a spot-kick awarded after he had been hauled down by Guilherme Ferreira.

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, centre, is congratulated after scoring his side's first goal against Pachuca. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

In the later game, Real Madrid shrugged off an early red card to defeat Mexico’s Pachuca 3-1 and take a big step towards the knockout stage of the Club World Cup on Sunday.

The result leaves Madrid, under new head coach Xabi Alonso, on top of Group H with four points while Pachuca are eliminated after two defeats.

Saudi club Al Hilal, who held Real in their opener, face second-placed Salzburg later on Sunday.

The Spanish giants were in trouble after just seven minutes when Raúl Asencio was shown a straight red card after he pulled down Salomon Rondon with the Venezuelan clear on goal.

That left the Liga MX team sensing the chance for an upset in front of 70,248 fans at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

Pachuca quickly went close when Brazilian Kenedy saw a shot parried out by Thibaut Courtois, and the Belgian keeper did brilliantly to deny Alan Bautista’s follow-up shot.

But Real were able to get a grip on the game in midfield and slow the pace down, limiting opportunities for Pachuca.

It was a superbly worked team goal that provided the breakthrough for Madrid in the 35th minute.

Gonzalo Garcia’s clever flick released Fran Garcia down the left, and he looked inside to Jude Bellingham, who took the ball in his stride and then buried a left-foot shot into the corner.

Pachuca were not disheartened, and Courtois had to be alert again to push away a low drive from the dangerous Kenedy.

But two minutes before the break, Real doubled their advantage when Trent Alexander-Arnold drilled a low cross in from the right and Arda Guler collected Gonzalo’s deft lay-off and fired home.

Pachuca created a pile of chances after the break, peppering Courtois’s goal, but the Belgian was up to the task, denying Brazilian substitute John Kennedy and efforts from Rondon and Bryan Gonzalez.

Javier Eduardo Lopez missed the best opportunity for the Mexican side, firing wide after some sloppy defending from Madrid.

The outcome was put beyond doubt in the 70th minute when Federico Valverde slid the ball home after a smart exchange with Brahim Diaz.

Pachuca finally got some reward for their determined effort when Elias Montiel’s shot on the turn was deflected off Aurelien Tchouameni and flew past the wrong-footed Courtois.

– © AFP 2025