.png)
2 months ago
38
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
It’s 26 degrees and overcast in Philadelphia this afternoon, with similar conditions in my spare room some 3,500 miles away. Don’t worry, I’m hydrating. While we wait, here’s the latest Football Daily:
“I’ve found if you think of this tournament less as a sporting contest, and more as a Ballardian bitter satire about gaudy, empty, dystopian, meaningless mismatched spectacles, it’s much more fun,” writes Paul Griffin. On the other hand, Boca Juniors v Benfica was a decent watch.
Here’s Pep Guardiola: “Basically, everyone is going to play in this tournament. The season starts today and ends next May or June. I trust all of them, and in the next game, maybe we’ll change a lot [of players]. We want to create the ‘bones’, the way we will play for the next season.”
On Rodri: “Everyone wants to see him back, but I want to be sure he’s ready.” On Wydad: “We expect them to be physical … teams from this area are always tough. We’re not thinking about winning the tournament, just each game.”
On that subject, an interesting read from Alex Abnos. Had Fifa used soccer-specific venues for this tournament, things might look very different.
It’s looking like another low turnout in Philadelphia, with just a smattering of fans taking their seats around the vast venue. This stadium is home to the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, and also hosted Wrestlemania XL in 2024. It’s normally a lot busier than this on game day.
This game is being shown for free on Channel 5 (in the UK) and Dazn. Andros Townsend has warned that Wydad can be dangerous on the break, which has certainly been a weakness for City’s defence in recent months.
So, Pep hands debuts to Reijnders and Cherki in what looks an attacking line-up, Phil Foden completing the midfield and Omar Marmoush preferred to Erling Haaland at centre-forward. There’s also a rare outing for January recruit Vitor Reis in central defence. City have named 15 substitutes, including Rodri and new recruit Rayan Aït-Nouri, in what may be the best pool of talent ever assembled on one bench.
Team news
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Lewis, Vitor Reis, Ake, O’Reilly; Reijnders, Foden, Cherki; Savinho, Doku, Marmoush.
Subs: Ortega, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Aït Nouri, Gvardiol, Khusanov, Gündogan, Silva, Rodri, Nunes, Bobb, González, Echeverri, Haaland.
Wydad Casablanca (5-4-1): Benabid; Moufid, Boutouil, Meijers, Ferreira, Moufi; Amrabat, Zemraoui, El Moubarik, Lorch; Mailula.
Subs: El Motie, Aqzdaou, Harkass, Malsa, Benktib, Arthur, Moutaraji, Pedrinho, Bennani, Mahtou, Mohamed Rayhi, Aziz Ki, Obeng, Fathi, Mwalimu.
Preamble
Manchester City’s rebuild officially starts here. Since closing the season with a third-place finish and defeat in the FA Cup final, City have said goodbye to Kevin De Bruyne, stuck Jack Grealish in a taxi and brought in three new players with indecent haste.
Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and not one but two Rayans – left-back Aït-Nouri and playmaker Cherki – are all in the squad for this Stateside jamboree. Pep Guardiola has also decided that this job is too big for one Pep, recruiting former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders as his new assistant.
The two Peps are hoping to begin a beautiful friendship today against Wydad Casablanca, who qualified for the Club World Cup by winning Africa’s Champions League in 2022. Wydad reached out to Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this year, but the most familiar name in their squad is former Watford winger Nordin Amrabat.
The Moroccan side are rated as 55-1 outsiders for this game, with City then facing Abu Dhabi’s own Al-Ain before taking on Juventus. The runners-up in Group G are likely to face Real Madrid in the July heat of Miami in the last 16, something probably best avoided.
For this and many other reasons, Guardiola will want to hit the ground running, or at least briskly jogging, Rocky Balboa style, in Philadelphia today. Kick-off is at 5pm BST, 12pm local time.
