The new Club World Cup will kick off this Sunday, with 32 teams from six continents going to compete. To this end, The Athletic specifically analyzed the popularity and highlights of each group’s qualifying. Author Mark Carey brings us an analysis of Group G.
G Group, which includes the world’s best coach, the last AFC Champions League champion and the most successful club in Italy, is very likely to present a wonderful scene.
Manchester City, Morocco’s Vidard Athletics, Ain from the UAE and Juventus together form the G Group of this Club World Cup, and the many highlights are dazzling. Can Manchester City avenge Juventus for a loss in the Champions League last December?
The Athletic sorted out the top hotspots, interesting anecdotes and highlights worth paying attention to in this group.
Schedule at a glance
June 19: Manchester City vs. Vidard Athletics (0:00 Beijing time)
June 19: Ain vs. Juventus (9:00 Beijing time)
June 23: Juventus vs. Vidard Athletics (0:00 Beijing time)
June 23: Manchester City vs. Ain (9:00 Beijing time)
June 27: Juventus vs. Manchester City (3:00 Beijing time)
June 27: Vader Ain (3:00 Beijing time)
June 27: Vader Ain (3:00 Beijing time)
Hot Team: Manchester City
Marrior City has had a disappointing season by its own high standards. After winning the Premier League championship for four consecutive years under Guardiola, Manchester City has failed to make a strong impact on the championship this season.
Injury issues are a catalyst for a decline in state before Christmas, but in recent months, Manchester City has shown signs of recovery. Guardiola adjusted the tactical system so that the full-back can maintain a higher and wider position when Manchester City attacks. The figure below shows the scene when they played against Bournemouth in the last home court of the Premier League. During the offensive stage, Kovasic retreated to the defense line and formed a 3-2-5 formation.
A better performance has made Manchester City unbeaten in the Premier League since early March, but lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, Guardiola failed to win an important trophy in a single season for the first time in eight years. Unsurprisingly, Guardiola was reluctant to show excessive optimism.
Guardiola said at the end of April: “The reality is that the Premier League is the criterion for the success of a season, not the Champions League or the FA Cup. The key is stability in the Premier League, and we failed to maintain it. However, this does happen. Sometimes you have bad seasons for multiple reasons that are well known. All you have to do is persevere and work hard to reduce losses. ”
This was a bad season for Guardiola, but Manchester City is still one of the popular teams to win this year’s Club World Cup.
According to Opta’s strength ranking, Manchester City is still the strongest team of all the clubs in this summer. This is a global ranking system with more than 13,000 clubs, with a score ranging from 0 to 100 points. Therefore, it can be predicted that Guardiola will regard the Club World Cup as an opportunity to practice more tactics, and also start to rebuild the lineup and fight to regain the championship next season.
Focus battle: Juventus vs. Manchester City
This is almost undisputed.
Whenever two European powerhouses meet in a narrow road, the game will always be the focus. We can learn from the sporadic tactical details of the two teams playing in the Champions League earlier this season. In the Champions League league stage game this season, Juventus won 2-0.
The game data panel below shows that the away team Manchester City controls the ball and the space on the court, and suppresses Juventus in the backcourt through the cooperation of the wing. However, Juventus performed sharper on the offensive end, and both goals were derived from cross-border goals, and Manchester City failed to properly guard against it.
At that time, Manchester City was still adapting to the impact of Rodri’s absence due to injury and was unable to effectively intercept the opponent’s attack. They were vulnerable to counterattack threats in almost every game, fully exposing their weaknesses.
As shown in the figure below, Manchester City’s gap in the middle was instantly exposed after losing the ball, and McKennie received the pass in an open area, and then Juventus scored the second goal.
In the following months, Manchester CityThe city’s off-ball defense has been strengthened, but we still need to pay attention to whether the old ways will be resurfaced in the Club World Cup.
Fans have to wait until the third round of the group stage before they can enjoy the eyes of this showdown. But given that this will be the most important showdown in this group, this contest is worth looking forward to.
Feet heritage
Although Juventus may no longer be the strongest team at present, its deep historical heritage and strong aura undoubtedly add the strongest majesty to Group G.
Juventus has won the Champions League trophy twice, and many of the most shining superstars in the world football world have worn Juventus’ iconic black and white striped shirts. But the era of Platini, Baggio, Zidane, Piero, Nedved and Buffon is a distant memory for today’s players.
Mota took over Shuai Yin last summer, but only stayed in the head coach position for nine months, failing to replicate his previous success in Bologna. Mota lost only three games in Serie A, but there were 13 draws in the 29 league games he coached, which quickly failed to compete for the championship. Mota was eventually replaced by Tudor in March.
After experiencing a reign of nine consecutive Serie A, the club’s 37th league championship has been out of reach for the past five years. No club can surpass Juventus in the Italian top league, so fans have every reason to hold high expectations and yearn for the team to regain their former glory.
The most expected player to shine: Irdez
20-year-old Turkish international Irdez extended his contract to 2029 last summer and took over the iconic No. 10 jersey worn by many of the greatest players in club history. And Ilditz, who is only 20 years old, has many exciting aspects in his game.
Ilditz is quick-paced, fearless and forward-looking, and he is eager to break through his opponent’s defense with various skills.
Ilditz has completed 113 breakthroughs in Serie A this season, surpassing any other Juventus player, and he often pushes forward with the ball after passing the defensive player. Although he is known for being the most threatening on the left, his calm mind and excellent balance means he can be competent in any position in the offensive midfield.
Total with JuventusThe situation is similar, Ilditz’s performance has fluctuated this season, but his on-field performance undoubtedly fully proves that he can be a key weapon in Juventus’ offense.
Juventus is facing a difficult period in recent history, and Ilditz seems to have opened a window for the team’s future.
In addition to players from European teams, please pay attention to the performance of Al Ain offensive player Rahimi. Over the past 18 months, his shooting ability has been impressive in both the club and the national team.
Rahimi was the top scorer of the Olympic Games last summer, scoring eight goals for Morocco, who reached the semi-finals. Rahimi, 28, also set a record, becoming the first player to score goals in six consecutive Olympic games.
Rashimi, who mainly plays as the left winger, is the key firepower output player for Al Ain’s AFC Champions League championship in May last year. He scored 13 goals in 13 games, tying an event record.
If anyone will shoulder the heavy responsibility of capturing Al Ain in the Club World Cup, then you can completely trust Rahimi.
Stories worth watching
How Vidard Athletics will deal with the Club World Cup after a turbulent season.
This team from Casablanca is highly expected. They won the Moroccan League championship 22 times, seven more times than the second-ranked Moroccan Sports League, and three times won the African Champions League.
The most recent championship was in the 2021-22 season, coached by Reglaji, who is now the head coach of the Moroccan national team. Regraj led Morocco to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup in 2022, becoming the first African national team to enter the semi-finals of the World Cup. And his best achievement at the club level is undoubtedly leading Vadard Athletics to the African Championship.
Vidad Athletics is famous for its straightforward and counterattack tactical style. However, last summer, coach Mokwana joined from South African bachelor Mamelodi Sunset and worked to change the team’s offensive style. However, despite some signs of improvement throughout the season, the eight-game defeat caused Vader Athletic to fail to make a real impact on the championship, and Mokwana was fired in April this year.
Interim head coach Mohammed Amin BenAfter Nachm took office, the team’s performance improved. With three consecutive victories, Vader entered the Club World Cup with a high competitive state.
But it may be almost impossible to pose a real threat to Group G, especially after a few months of such a chaotic situation.
Things you may not know…
Arai was therefore led by former Argentine international Crespo to win the 2024 AFC Champions League title. They defeated the Japanese team Yokohama Mariner in the final and won the AFC Champions League trophy for the second time in history.
As the fourth scorer in Argentina’s history, Crespo took over Ain’s coach in November 2023. Despite Ain’s success in the AFC Champions League last summer, his form has declined sharply this season, resulting in Crespo being removed from his post in just one year.
Serbian Vladimir Ivic is now in the coaching seat. He briefly coached the Championship team Watford in the 2020-21 season. Al Ain currently ranks fifth in the UAE Professional League.
Interestingly, Ain’s game against Manchester City will stage a “brother’s wall” – Manchester City owner Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the younger brother of Ain’s chairman Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.