Thembinkosi Lorch impresses, but Mamelodi Sundowns loanee is unable to save Wydad Casablanca as Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku fire Manchester City to Fifa Club World Cup opening victory

Wydad Casablanca suffered a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in their opening game of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup on Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field Stadium in Philadelphia.

Foden scored early in the first half before Doku added the second just before the halftime break.

Meanwhile, the African giants suffered an early setback when they conceded in the second minute. Despite goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid managing to pull off a good save to deny Savinho, Foden managed to fire home the rebound to hand the Citizens the opener.

The early goal conceded did not deter Wydad from attacking; they threw men up front and came close to getting an equaliser in the 13th minute through Lorch. However, the South African winger, after managing a way past the last man, was, however, stopped by the raised offside flag.

The former Orlando Pirates forward attempted an ambitious long-range strike, but Ederson was equal to the challenge as he collected the ball with ease in the 15th minute.

Cassius Mailula, who was yellow-carded in the 16th minute after a late challenge, tested Ederson in the 32nd minute. The former Mamelodi Sundowns forward launched a low strike inside, but the Brazilian goalkeeper read the direction of the ball rightly and collected it.

Despite fighting hard for an equaliser, the Moroccan heavyweights conceded the second goal in the 42nd minute. Foden delivered a cross that Doku connected to and scored to extend City's lead.

In the 45th minute, Lorch - who is on loan from Sundowns - attempted to strike from the edge of the box, but he lost his composure slightly, and the ball went wide.

Wydad's head coach, Amine Benhachem, made a change when the second half started by replacing Mailula with Mohamed Rayhi.

City are now top of their group, while Wydad lie at the bottom.

This is a huge setback for Mailula and Lorch's team at the Club World Cup. An opening loss means they have ceded some ground as far as chasing a ticket to the knockout stage is concerned.

A defeat for Wydad, who qualified for the Club World Cup by winning the Caf Champions League in 2022, in their next game will end their campaign in the global inter-club competition.

But for Pep Guardiola, it is the result he wanted in a game in which he handed debuts to his new signings, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

The former Champions League winners will tackle Juventus on June 22 before the final group game against Al Ain on June 26.

These are games that Wydad must win if they are to stand a chance of reaching the Round of 16.