Yildiz always on target in his debuts as a starter

Juventus kicked off the Club World Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of Al Ain. Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao were the main stars of the win for the Turin side, with the Frenchman and the Portuguese scoring a brace apiece to lead their team.

The other goal for the ‘Vecchia Signora’ was scored by Kenan Yildiz. The Turkish international is Juventus' top player and, despite being only 20 years old, has shown time and again that he is not under pressure on the big occasions. And his debut in this Club World Cup was just that.

His goal, a long-range shot narrowly wide of the post to make it 0-3, also confirmed a brutal statistic that places Yildiz among players in a special group. The No 10 has always been able to score a goal in his first match as a starter in all the competitions he has played for Juventus.

In Serie A, Yildiz made his first start on December 23rd, 2023, in an away match against Frosinone. Juve's then No 15 scored after 12 minutes, starting his team's 1-2 victory. Frosinone itself experienced first-hand Yildiz's starting XI debut in Coppa Italia shortly after, on January 11th, 2024. This time at home, Yildiz scored in the 61st minute to seal a 4-0 ‘Bianconero’ win.

The Regensburg native also found the back of the net when he made his first start in the Supercoppa Italiana. This happened on January 3rd, 2025, with Yildiz scoring the only Turin goal in the 1-2 defeat against Milan.

Lastly, at international level, the player also added a goal to his tally when he made his first appearance in the Champions League, scoring the opener against PSV (3-1) on 17th September 2024. Now, against Al Ain, Yildiz added to his tally of first-time starters by scoring for the first time in the Club World Cup.