Kenan Yıldız’s dazzling goals lead Juventus to a 4-1 win over Wydad in the Club World Cup

Sometimes when a young player reaches a big soccer stage, it proves to be too big for him. But Kenan Yıldız is not one of those players.

The 20-year-old Juventus playmaker was the star of the show Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, creating the opener and then scoring two brilliant goals in the Italian giant’s 4-1 win over Morocco’s Wydad in the Club World Cup.

Wydad fans once again livened up the atmosphere, including red, white, and black balloons they waved like rally towels. Whenever Juventus had the ball, they whistled piercingly, the rest of the world’s equal to booing.

But Juve weren’t bothered. It took them just six minutes to score the opener, after a long spell of possession spread Wydad’s defense out. Khéphren Thuram sprung the decisive pass to Yıldız, whose close-range shot hit Wydad’s Abdelmounaim Boutouil and deflected in at the near post. It was officially given as an own goal.

Juventus had the ball back again soon after that, and the Bianconeri again took their time. With an 88-degree temperature at kickoff, they had every reason to, though cloud cover thankfully kept the sun from scorching the field further. The thunderstorm that rumbled down from the north in the late morning mostly stayed to the east, with just some cooling rain during the second half.

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Yıldız struck again in the 16th, with a thunderbolt from 18 yards. Andrea Cambiaso had the official assist, but the whole team deserved a bonus for a 17-pass buildup that led to one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

“We see it every day at practice — we can’t say it surprises us when he does that in a game,“ Thuram said of Yıldız. ”We know he’s a very good player who can become a great player if he continues to work and be serious. And we’re there to help him and advise him so he can become the best he can.”

The son of former French national team star Lilian Thuram and brother of AC Milan striker Marcus Thuram, Khéphren had a great game in central midfield, completing 52 of 57 passes and landing three tackles.

“It’s important to play well with the ball, to find spaces to create in, to play from left to right, to play forward, to try to destabilize the other team,” he said. He praised Wydad for being “a serious team with strength in the counterattack and fast players, and a team with a very aggressive defense.”

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While Juventus wanted to slow things down, Wydad clearly wanted to speed things up. Their approach didn’t always work, but it paid off in the 25th minute when Thembinkosi Lorch scored the team’s first tournament goal on a breakaway. Their fans celebrated with an eruption of smoke bombs and flares, some of which unfortunately landed on the field.

Referee Saíd Martínez of Honduras took the opportunity to pause the game for the first half’s hydration break, a polite way to let stadium staff clean up the debris. (Late in the half, an announcement was made noting that the “use of pyrotechnics is strictly prohibited.” Wydad fans promptly set off more flares, but kept them in the stands.)

U.S. men’s national team star Weston McKennie started the game and wore the captain’s armband. He only played the first half, then was replaced by Teun Koopmeiners, who had family in the stands from Danville, Pa., near Johnstown.

There was no word if the fans who raised a “PENNSYLVANIA (heart)’s KOOPMEINERS #8″ banner before the game were his connections, but it was cool enough to see them on the big screen.

In the 62nd, Juventus’ Randal Kolo Muani had a wide-open net in front of him, receiving Lloyd Kelly’s cross, but a last-ditch intervention by Boutouil denied a shot the French striker knew he should have buried.

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Yıldız did the job in the 69th with another outstanding goal, this time off the dribble. Kolo Muani was the provider, with a gallant run down the left flank and a defense-splitting pass. The young Turkish playmaker took it from there, cutting to his right to leave Boutouil in the dust and curling a shot to the far corner.

He celebrated by grabbing a Wydad ballon that had floated across the field and popping it against his chest.

Juve manager Igor Tudor made a triple substitution after that, to save more starters for Thursday’s group stage-defining game against English Premier League power Manchester City in Orlando (3 p.m., TNT, Univision, DAZN).

Unfortunately for U.S. men’s national team fans, Tim Weah wasn’t among the entrants. Nor was he the pick when Yıldız exited to a standing ovation from the crowd of 31,975 in the 85th.

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Wydad had a big chance for a consolation goal at the start of stoppage time, but Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio made a sensational full-stretch stop on Mohamed Moufid’s open header.

Juve then capped the scoring with a 94th-minute penalty kick that Martínez had no choice but to give, even if the clock had almost run out. Wydad’s Guilherme Ferreira had his arms wrapped around Dusan Vlahović in a way just as suited to an Eagles game, and Martínez had a clear view of it. He blew his whistle as soon as Vlahović hit the deck, and the striker nailed his shot low to the right.

“It’s true that we lowered our level, and we were able to hold on even as we gave up a goal and went into halftime up 2-1,” Kolo Muani said. “But it was a very good game, we were well prepared, we are very happy, and we’re ready for the third game.”

Wydad wasn’t officially eliminated at the final whistle, but was a few hours later when Manchester City beat Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, 6-0.

City and Juventus head to their finale tied on standings points (6) and goal difference (plus-8). Juve hold the tiebreaker of total goals scored, 9-8, which means a draw in that contest would give them first place.