Wydad AC coach Benhachem: "We lost to City, but at least we played with our identity"

After Wydad's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City to begin play from Group G of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, coach Amine Benhachem fully acknowledged his tactical decisions while sending a message to the fans.

"I'm sorry for the Wydad fans and the Moroccans. We wanted to make them proud with a good result, especially those who were there today. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, but at least we played with our identity," the coach said at a press conference.

Benhachem added that his staff had studied City's style of play: "We knew it would be difficult to take the ball away from them. So we chose to give them possession and focus on the spaces."

He concluded: "I told the players: be brave, even if you lose the ball and we concede, it doesn't matter. The main thing is to play without fear, with our style." It is better to lose with our principles than to suffer without reacting."

Match Highlights

EDITOR NOTE: This article is translated from the original written in French by Omar Chraibi for Pan-Africa Football.