Italy’s second team in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup is Juventus. The Bianconeri players set off for Miami this week all decked out in some rather fantastic baseball style shirts – if you haven’t seen them, head to Juventus’ Instagram page now!
Like Inter, Juventus are coming to the tournament off the back of a trophy-less season although not straight off the back of a humiliating Champions League final. Juve qualified for the CWC thanks to their ranking of 8th in the UEFA’s 4 year ranking, despite not appearing in a Champions League final in that time.
Igor Tudor was appointed in late March and they only lost one game after that, qualifying for next years Champions League in 4th place – something that secured him the job for a further two years.
But you already know all this, you know all this about Juventus. What about their opponents? What do we know about the rest of Group F? Well, you’re in the right place, check out the lowdown below.
Manchester City
I’m not sure they need a lot of introduction. By far the favourites to win the group and one of the favourites for the entire tournament, City are the team everyone wanted to avoid. Hurt from a poor trophyless season themselves, they’ve been spending big – nearly €400m since January – and they’re refreshed and ready to go.
New arrivals Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki will add threat behind Erling Haaland. The 2023 Champions League winners are Juve’s last opponents in the group, which looks likely to be the decider for who tops the group and avoids a probable tie with Real Madrid in the Round of 16.
It’s hard to pick just one player to watch for Man City and there’s some obvious choices but I’m eager to see how they deal with the lack of Kevin de Bruyne after his move to Napoli. There are a number of players who could step into this role and the potential three man attacking midfield of Reijnders, Cherki and Marmoush should have more than enough skill and firepower to replace one man.
Some of the lesser known younger talents at City have travelled and will certainly not be out of place based on their finish to the season with the likes of Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly flourishing late this campaign. City are widely expected to top this group and it’ll take a special performance from Juve in Orlando to stop that happening.
Al-Ain FC
Juve’s first opponents are the UAE’s most successful club. They are 14 time champions, 7 times cup winners and hold two AFC Champions Leagues. The Abu Dhabi based club won the competition in 2024 with star striker Soufiane Rahimi the top scorer and best player.
The forward has scored 5 times in 14 appearances for Morocco and is known for his clinical finishing, direct running and explosiveness in transition. The pacey striker is more than capable of causing problems for Gatti and co.
Rahimi is nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” in the UAE media, given his propensity to turn up in the big matches, scoring 5 times in two matches against Al-Hilal in the 2024 AFC Champions League Semi Final. For comparisons in Europe, think Luis Diaz or Rafa Leao. If he’s not marked tightly, he has the potential to cause some real problems for Juventus.
Alongisde Rahimi, look out for Kodjo Laba, the forward has scored 20 goals in 21 games this season. Behind them, will be Kaku. Better known as Alejandro Romero, the Paraguay international is considered a set piece expert and has contributed to 15 goals this season.
Al-Ain have actually had a disappointing campaign this time out and despite coming into the tournament on the back of 4 wins in their last 6, they finished the season in 5th position – a whole 19 points behind eventual winners Shabab Al-Ahli.
Wydad AC
Much like Juventus this season, draws have cost Wydad dearly. Nearly half of their results were draws, with 12 stalemates in their 30 games in the Moroccan League. They did win 14 games, however, which meant they finished a strong 3rd postiion, despite being 16 points behind the champions.
Defensively sound, but with a lack of real firepower, they could be an Italian team and the 2022 African Champions League winners are here to prove a point. They are 22 times champions of Morocco and are even nicknamed the “Club of the Nation” because of their dominance in the country.
Expect veteran winger Nordin Amrabat to cause issues, the older brother of former Fiorentina player Sofyan, his big game experience will be key if Wydad don’t want to finish bottom of this group as is expected of them.
The Italian theme continues with their defensive stalwart Amine Farhane. The 31 year old centre back is a no-nonsense, old school defender who relies on his positioning, strength and aerial dominance. Very Leonardo Bonucci.
Forward Mohamed Rayhi is going to be a headache for the likes of Alberto Costa or Savona. Playing off the left, the Dutchman is a direct forward who will constantly look to run in behind, especially when Wydad win the ball and transition to forward areas.
Look out for his quick release, he won’t dribble very often and he won’t hold the ball. He’s a limited dribbler who relies on time and space to receive the ball in positive areas, where he’ll then get snap shots away. The instinctive finisher can use both feet but is stronger off the left foot.
What Next?
Well, Juventus are expected to make it through the group stage fairly comfortably, but the battle for first with Man City will be key. The reason for this? Real Madrid. First place in Group G will get to play second place in Group H next and vice versa. When you see that Group H contains, Real Madrid, Al Hilal, CF Pachuca and RB Salzburg, you’ll understand the importance of winning Group G.
With Real likely to top Group H, second in Group G provides a stern test very early in the tournament. If Juve were to top the group, it looks like it’ll be Al Hilal in Round 2 and a chance to take on old foe Simone Inzaghi, unless Pachuca or Salzburg can pull a surprise out of the bag.
After that, it’s anyone’s guess who’s in the Quarter Final, it could potentially mean a meeting with Inter which would certainly bring the CWC into the living rooms of everyone in Italy. Maybe it would even be 4-4 again…
The Calcio Blog 
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