PHILADELPHIA — To say it was warm at noon on Sunday would be an understatement. Although the sun mostly hid behind the clouds before kickoff, the humidity was even higher than it had been on Friday. The match brought together Serie A’s most widely supported club, Juventus, and Morocco’s Wydad AC—whose traveling supporters, like their South American counterparts, have lit up this Club World Cup with unbridled passion. Another electric atmosphere was expected, and the crowd delivered.

Outside the stadium I spoke with fans from both camps. For many Juventus supporters, simply seeing their club play a meaningful match on American soil—and perhaps catching a glimpse of their favorite player—was enough. Wydad fans, meanwhile, carried an added layer of pride: they felt they were representing not just their club but their country. The occasion clearly meant more to them.

Although the announced attendance of just over 31,000 was smaller than at the last match I covered, Wydad fans packed the south end of the stadium and provided most of the noise. Draped in red and white, they whistled and jeered whenever a Juve player touched the ball. Even when Turkish midfielder Kenan Yildiz beat goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid in the sixth minute—an effort later ruled an own goal by Abdelmounaim Boutouil—the Moroccan supporters only grew louder.

Yildiz’s class soon showed again. In the 16th minute the 20-year-old forward, valued at roughly $50 million on Transfermarkt, struck his second to make it 2-0. Yildiz already has two goals in 21 caps for Türkiye and has posted seven goals and five assists in 34 Serie A appearances.

When asked about the midfielder’s performance, Juventus head coach Igor Tudor added:

“What level can Kenan Yildiz reach? That’s up to him. He has a rare gift: a great mentality. He runs like a midfielder and has excellent technical quality. He’s a golden boy.”

Yet Juve’s early dominance didn’t last. Wydad pulled one back through Thembinkosi Lorch—on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns—as his curling effort sent the Casablanca faithful into raptures and a cloud of red smoke. The celebrations, complete with flares, forced a brief stoppage and a stadium announcement banning pyrotechnics, which only prompted more smoke and an even louder response in what felt like defiance.

The humidity that greeted the teams at kickoff gave way to cooler, windy conditions and a passing shower, but nothing could dampen Wydad’s voice. Apart from a few half-chances, the Moroccan champions spent most of the opening 15 minutes after the break repelling wave after wave of Juve set pieces—and did so bravely.

Juventus finally re-established a two-goal cushion in the 69th minute when Yildiz completed his brace to make it 3-1, yet the Wydad supporters kept singing as if the match were still scoreless.

“We face the best teams in the world and we learn. There is a good team spirit. We’ve learned a lot of things. We don’t dwell on the defeat, but on all the experience gained. I thank the fans, they give everything for us.” said Wydad midfielder, Thembinkosi Lorch post match.

That contrast brings me back to an early observation: while Juventus fans were scattered around the ground—there was even a small section in the north end zone—you seldom heard an organized chant from them. But each time Juve scored, the entire stadium erupted. Wydad’s section, by contrast, never stopped. Perhaps that is because many of them traveled halfway around the world to watch their team face one of the globe’s giants; for them, it simply means more than it does to someone who drove in from central Pennsylvania to see a favorite European club.

That’s not a criticism of Juventus fans; it’s just the reality. Exposure to supporter cultures like Flamengo’s or Wydad’s can only help American soccer grow in the long run.

When Dušan Vlahović buried a stoppage-time penalty to make it 4-1, Wydad’s faithful still stayed, clapping and cheering their side off the field.

Outside Lincoln Financial Field you would have thought they had won, judging by the photos, the dancing, and the tailgate celebrations. Perhaps they hoped for a victory, but on Sunday the chance to watch their club compete against the best meant everything—and that, in itself, is special.