Wydad AC test their mettle against Manchester City
On the hunt for a second Club World Cup honour in as many tournaments, Manchester City begin Group G on Wednesday, when they welcome Moroccan outfit Wydad AC in Philadelphia.
Serie A titans Juventus and United Arab Emirates representatives Al-Ain are also present in the section, where anything besides a top-two finish would be the lowest of low ebbs for Man City.
Tough times often make tough people, and the Citizens faithful will be praying that is the case for Guardiola and co, as the Sky Blues cannot purge the 2024-25 season from their memory banks quickly enough.
An early-season Community Shield success ended up being all that Man City had to shout about, having ceded their Premier League title to Liverpool with a whimper, fallen to Real Madrid’s Champions League superiority and suffered the most gut-wrenching FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace.
Guardiola and his transfer chiefs have been splashing the cash at will in the earliest knockings of the summer. Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders are already through the doors at the Etihad – the former and latter combined will seek to replace a measure of Kevin De Bruyne‘s ingenuity – and more incomings are anticipated between now and the beginning of the new domestic term.
In terms of matters on the field, Man City technically come into the Club World Cup as defending champions; they won the 2023 edition at a canter before FIFA launched the Intercontinental Cup, which acted as a brief placeholder in 2024.
All four of City’s new acquisitions – Reijnders, Cherki, Ait-Nouri and backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli – are present in the USA, and debuts almost certainly await the former three in Philadelphia.
With Juventus to come in eight days’ time, Guardiola – never one to shy away from wide-scale rotation – may opt for somewhat of a second-string XI, but it is largely anybody’s guess as to how he will set up his side.
Sterner tests will of course come, but even a weakened Man City outfit should have few problems kicking off their Group G campaign with a glut of goals against the Moroccan minnows.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Real Madrid kick off Xabi Alonso era when they face Al-Hilal
Real Madrid will officially kick off the Xabi Alonso era when they face Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in today’s Club World Cup clash at Hard Rock Stadium.
Al-Hilal also head into the tournament under new management after recently appointing Simone Inzaghi following his departure from Inter Milan.
Real Madrid may have won the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, but the 2024-25 campaign will ultimately go down as a failure after losing to Barcelona in the title race, the Copa del Rey final and the Spanish Super Cup final.
Experienced manager Carlo Ancelotti left his role at the end of the disappointing season, leaving a year before the end of his contract to become the new head coach of the Brazil national team.
Alonso was swiftly announced as Ancelotti’s successor, after he decided to call time on his successful stint as Bayer Leverkusen boss to return to the club where he made 236 competitive appearances and won multiple honours, including a La Liga title and a Champions League trophy.
The 43-year-old has already seen his squad strengthened by the additions of Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Franco Mastantuono, although the latter will arrive after the Club World Cup.
Alonso has the chance to win a trophy before he even starts his first season, as Los Blancos look to win their sixth Club World Cup after previously lifting the trophy in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
A day after his Inter exit, Inzaghi was confirmed as Al-Hilal’s new manager, taking over a side that finished in second place and 13 points adrift of Saudi Pro League winners Al-Ittihad.
Inzaghi will be tasked with reclaiming Al-Hilal’s Saudi Pro League title in 2025-26, but first, he will look to steer his new side through the Club World Cup group stage, although they face a tough task in their tournament opener against the 15-time European champions.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Pachuca, Red Bull Salzburg look to start their campaign with a bang!
As both sides look to start their Club World Cup campaign with a bang, Pachuca of Mexico’s Liga MX will face Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Bundesliga at TQL Stadium on Wednesday.
Tuzos will be hoping to record back-to-back wins in midweek, while Die Roten Bullen will be aiming to make it three victories on the bounce.
Jaime Lozano‘s Pachuca endured a mixed 2024-25 in the Mexican top flight, finishing 16th during the Torneo Apertura, but ending up in the play-in round during the Torneo Clausura.
In preparation for this summer’s competition, Tuzos beat Saudi Pro League club Al Ahly in a friendly on June 8 as they sought to put their lacklustre close to the league campaign behind them, though they needed a penalty shootout to prevail after the clock stopped with the score at 1-1.
That triumph was only Lozano’s side’s second from their last six matches, a spell going back to early April that also features two draws and two losses, and it would be fair to say that they have been inconsistent in recent months.
Given the strength of their Group H rivals Real Madrid, Al Hilal and Salzburg, the nominal hosts are underdogs that are expected to be eliminated in the opening stage of the tournament.
As a result, Pachuca will need to take at least a point from this clash against one of the non-Real teams if they are to stand any chance of progressing as part of the top two.
Meanwhile, Salzburg underwent a tumultuous season that saw recently-appointed Manchester City assistant Pepijn Lijnders sacked from his role as manager in mid-December and replaced by Thomas Letsch two days later.
The current head-coach went on to guide Die Roten Bullen to second place in the Austrian Bundesliga’s championship round, recording back-to-back wins in the division’s final two matchdays, and he will use the Club World Cup to build towards his first full season as chief at the Red Bull Arena.
If Salzburg can take all three points on Wednesday, then they could find themselves in a strong position to progress, especially considering their favourable schedule that sees them go up against Al Hilal before a showdown with Real next Friday.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
