England’s Manchester City faced off against Moroccan side Wydad in Philly’s second group stage of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with the defending champions Man City cruising to a 2-0 win.
Man City scored within the first two minutes of the game, English star Phil Foden snatching a spilled save from Wydad goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid in front of the six-yard box.
Belgian winger Jeremy Doku doubled City’s lead before halftime, beating the defender covering him to volley in a cross to the back post on a corner kick.
Man City, who played a man down for the final minutes after defender Rico Lewis was sent off, controlled the majority of the game and only faced two shots on target from the Casablanca-based team.
Police presence was visibly increased around the sports complex, compared to Monday night’s match between Brazilian side Flamengo taking on Tunisia’s Espérance de Tunisie. Officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were near the Broad Street Line’s NRG Station.
The second half saw two brief stoppages. The first came when a protester ran onto the field to protest the killing of cats and dogs in Morocco ahead of the country cohosting the World Cup in 2030 with Portugal and Spain. The second happened when the Wydad fans packed behind the goal at the south end of the stadium lit flares, and one made it onto the field next to Man City’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson.
Though there was a good showing of fans in Wydad and Moroccan colors, there were more fans in the Sky Blue of Man City. Jerseys from the English Premier League, European soccer, the United States National team, and prominent national teams and players were seen around the stadium, too.
Total attendance for the game was 37,446, up from the Linc’s first Club World Cup match on Monday (25,797). Fans were spread more evenly around the stadium’s levels.
Match splits up family, for 90 minutes
Many fans who came to see the game didn’t have a specific rooting interest. Others did, and had the jerseys to prove it. And there was the Oudghiri family, who came from New York. Adam, 15, wore a Man City kit. His mother, Nadia, was born in Morocco and wore a Moroccan national team jersey.
“I’m a Moroccan fan,” Nadia said. “Any club that plays for Morocco, I will support.”
Ayah, Adam’s sister and Nadia’s daughter, wore no distinct soccer colors and served as the family tiebreaker.
“I really don’t know what team to support, but I’ll just support Man City, because my brother’s here,” the 10-year-old said, before hugging Adam.
Adam said he had seen Man City play in a friendly match against Serie A side AC Milan last year at Yankee Stadium, but this game was more nerve-wracking because he had a soft spot for Wydad, due to mom.
No such family drama for Sutton Lloyd, 10, and his younger brother, Finn, who came with their mother from Summit, N.J., to support Man City. They also saw the team at Yankee Stadium.
This game was a good opportunity for the brothers to see how some City’s new signings, like Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, would fit into the team next year, and see players who didn’t take the field last summer, including Foden.
Like many Premier League fans in the U.S., the Lloyds weren’t familiar with Wydad before the game.
Wydad fan and native Moroccan Mamoun Mrane travelled from Brussels, Belgium, for the game. He said he never expected to see his team playing in Philadelphia.
“We’re a great team, so we’re used to big matches. But no. This match, honestly no,” he said.
Fisher Liu, who lives in D.C. but is originally from Guangdong Province in China, turned up at the Linc in a Liverpool jersey, one of City’s main rivals in the English Premier League.
“I’m definitely on the side of Casablanca,” he said. “Because I’m a Liverpool fan. I don’t want Manchester to win.”
Liu said the convenient travel and relatively cheap tickets — there were plenty available starting around $70 at kickoff — made it enticing for any neutral soccer fan to come for the game. He planned to return for the match between Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg and Spanish giant Real Madrid on June 26.
The Linc’s next match sees Brazilian side Flamengo returning to the field to take on London’s Chelsea on Friday, June 20, at 2 p.m. Chelsea last played in the Linc in 2023, during the first-ever English Premier League Summer Series in 2023. Philly will host six more games in this tournament, including a quarterfinal on the Fourth of July.
