Juventus are potentially 90 minutes away from reaching the quarter-finals in their maiden Club World Cup appearance

Potentially 90 minutes away from reaching the quarter-finals in their maiden FIFA Club World Cup appearance, Juventus take on Wydad AC in Philadelphia in their second Group G outing. Lincoln Financial Field sets the stage for the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and the stakes can hardly be any higher.

After a sub-standard 2024/25 season, this could mark the beginning of a new winning cycle for the record-time Italian champions. Juventus couldn’t have hoped for a better way to kick things off in the United States as they humbled Al-Ain 5-0 in their opening group game.

Francisco Conceicao and Randal Kolo Muani scored two goals apiece to inspire the Bianconeri to a statement victory in Washington. As a result, Juventus can seal progression into the knockout stages with a game to spare if they beat Wydad on Sunday late afternoon.

Unlike their opposition, the Egyptian outfit slumped to a somewhat expected 2-0 defeat to Manchester City. In all fairness, Amine Benhachem’s side can consider themselves lucky for avoiding a rout, given the amount of chances Pep Guardiola’s team spurned in Philadelphia.

Nonetheless, there’s no margin for error here as another loss would more than likely send Wydad packing. However, the task ahead is nothing short of Herculean as they gear up for their second-ever encounter against European rivals.

Sheer firepower saw Juventus wipe the floor with Al-Ain on day one. It was the biggest-ever victory an Italian club had pulled off at the Club World Cup, perhaps setting the tone for a standout result in the newly formatted competition. Head coach Igor Tudor may have found a formula for success.

Indeed, Juventus have finally strung together three consecutive wins, last achieving this feat in February. Furthermore, they’ve been restless in front of goal, netting at least two on each occasion at an average of 3.33 per game. Delivering action from the get-go, they put four unanswered first-half goals past Al-Ain in the curtain-raising fixture.

Another noteworthy takeaway from that victory was a rare clean sheet for the Turin heavyweights. As such, they could win back-to-back matches without conceding for the first time since August last year. Considering a sizeable gulf in class between the two teams, it’s hard to discard the possibility of another shutout.

However, it could lead to another low-scoring event, which has recently been a common theme in Juventus’ outings. Only three of their last ten have produced 3+ goals.