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AMMAN — Manchester City began their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 campaign with a confident 2-0 victory over Moroccan side Wydad AC in Group G on Wednesday, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Phil Foden opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, pouncing on a rebound inside the box after the goalkeeper failed to hold a low shot. The early goal set the tone for the encounter, with City dominating possession (69 per cent) and dictating the pace throughout the match.
Despite a valiant defensive effort, Wydad struggled to deal with City’s pressing and technical superiority. Jeremy Doku doubled the lead in the 42nd minute after a well-worked long corner routine initiated by Foden. The Belgian winger placed his shot neatly past Mehdi Benabid to seal the result before the break.
City remained in control during the second half, opting to manage the tempo with sharp passing and patient build-up. Wydad AC made five substitutions in an attempt to spark a comeback, butfailed to register any meaningful threat aside from a speculative long-range effort by Thembinkosi Lorch in the first half.
Nathan Ake came close to scoring from a header in 19th minute, while Omar Marmoush nearly doubled the lead in the opening ten minutes. Erling Haaland also missed a clear one-on-one opportunity deep into stoppage time, with Benabid making an excellent save.
City’s evening was only slightly marred by a red card shown to Rico Lewis in the 88th minute for a dangerous challenge, though it had no effect on the result.
Foden, who scored his first goal in five months, was named man of the match. City now lead Group G ahead of the Thursday fixture between Al Ain and Juventus.
Speaking after the match, manager Pep Guardiola said:
"The first game is always crucial in the group stage. I’m pleased with how we played — we controlled the game well from start to finish. Of course, there’s still room for improvement, and we’ll work on that ahead of the next match."
Wydad coach Amine Benhachem acknowledged notable gap in performance levels and will look for a response in their remaining group games.