The 2022 World Cup is here and the world's best players and national teams are in Qatar to compete for the biggest prize in international football.
Before the big kick-off, The National's sports desk have made their predictions for the tournament.
Jon Turner, Assistant Sports Editor
Champions: Brazil. Strength in depth in every position and a squad packed with stars, Brazil have been a settled squad in fine form for a couple years now. They cruised through qualifying and have a manager in Tite who has his players all on the same page. Brazil are going to take some stopping.
Surprise package: Uruguay. Should advance from their group, of course, but they could pull a Croatia and reach the final, which would qualify as a surprise of sorts. With two of the most in-form central midfielders in the world – Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur – plus plenty of firepower, Uruguay have the foundations to go far.
Disappointment: England. Woefully out of form and struggling for goals. Manager Gareth Southgate doesn't appear to know his best system nor his best XI, and there are glaring weaknesses in the side. They have the recent pedigree of going deep in the past two major tournaments but no repeat in Qatar.
Top scorer: Kylian Mbappe (France). Full disclosure: Karim Benzema occupied this particular prediction before the Ballon d'Or winner was ruled out with injury, so in steps his fellow strike partner. World Cup top scorer awards are generally secured in the group stage and Mbappe can fill his boots before the knockouts get under way.
Player of the tournament: Neymar (Brazil). Brazil to win the tournament and their talisman to be the star of the show. Heard it here first.
Dominic Hart, Sports Editor
Champions: Brazil. Predictable, maybe, but they are the team in form, are 15 games unbeaten and boast a seemingly endless number of super-talented forwards.
Surprise package: Morocco. With players like Hakim Ziyech, Romain Saiss and Achraf Hakimi in the squad, the Africans have the skill set to scare the life out of anyone on their day. Admittedly, they are in a tough group with Croatia and Belgium alongside the weaker Canada.
Disappointment: France. Injuries are going to be a big problem for many of the favourites, and the French travelled to Qatar at a disadvantage with Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku ruled out. Benzema was then added to that list on the eve of the tournament.
Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). Never one to shun the spotlight, Ronaldo could be looking for a new home after his Manchester United fall-out. Why not use the biggest stage of all to prove Erik ten Hag wrong, and tempt another suitor? If anyone can, Cristiano's the man.
Player of the tournament: Pedri (Spain)
Gareth Cox, Assistant Sports Editor
Champions: Brazil. A boring choice I'm afraid, but cannot see beyond Tite's side. A ludicrous array of attacking talent; a potent mix in squad of youth, experience, and players at their peak.
Surprise package: Denmark. A good group to qualify from with the Danes up against injury-hit France, Australia and Tunisia. Reliable goalkeeper in Kasper Schmeichel, strong defensively and in midfield, although a prolific goalscorer shy of making an even bigger impact on tournament.
Disappointment: France. Another obvious one simply because of the amount of injuries right through the core of the team – Kimpembe, Kante, Pogba and now also Ballon d'Or winner Benzema.
Top scorer: Lautaro Martinez (Argentina). A regular scorer for club side Inter Milan, and his country, Martinez will also benefit by having an in-form – and hopefully fully fit – Lionel Messi pulling the strings alongside him.
Player of the tournament: Neymar (Brazil). Time for the preening show-pony, prone to outrageous dives but with all the talent in the world, to take a tournament by the scruff of the neck and lead his country to glory.
Paul Radley, Reporter
Champions: Argentina. Some bloke called Messi. Forwards of the calibre of Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez. A rugged defence led by Cristian Romero, nicely rested after pulling the ladder up on Tottenham Hotspur for the past few weeks. Plus masses of neutral support in the Middle East.
Surprise package: Qatar. It will be a surprise to many if the host nation do anything at all on the pitch. Yet, thanks to the canny coaching of Felix Sanchez, their Pep Gaurdiola-lite manager, they are far from the easy-beats they once were – as shown by their 2019 Asian Cup title win. An “ooh, they were better than I thought they’d be” surprise package, rather than a title-contending one.
Disappointment: Belgium. Should have plenty in the tank to make it out of a group involving Canada, Morocco and Croatia. But a side with some of the most gilded stars in the sport of recent times might well have peaked. Likely to fall short of the trophy that befits a squad of such enviable talent.
Top scorer: Neymar (Brazil). Brazil’s group is hardly a cakewalk, with Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon their obstacles to the second round. The Selecao are flying at the moment, though, and their most glittering star should be able to fill his boots in a side not short of firepower.
Player of the tournament: Lionel Messi (Argentina). Was somewhat contentiously awarded the Golden Ball in 2014 after defeat in the final to Germany in Brazil. He could get the vote again this time around if he leads Argentina to the title.
Stuart James, Sport sub-editor
Champions: Argentina. It’s a close call between them and the other South American giants, Brazil. On paper, the Selecao edge it in terms of their attacking options, but Argentina landed their first Copa America for nearly 30 years last year and are unbeaten in 36 games. I have a sneaking feeling Messi will sign off his major tournament career by lifting the big one.
Surprise package: Denmark. They made it to the last-16 of the World Cup in 2018, losing out to eventual finalists Croatia, then reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, where they were beaten narrowly by England. With their star player Christian Eriksen back in the side, they could cause an upset and win Group D against a weakened France.
Disappointment: France. Pogba, Kante, Benzema, Kimpembe, Nkuku out; Varane and Kounde struggling with injury. Even with the depth of talent France can call on, that casualty list – plus the pressure of being defending champions – will prove too much for Didier Deschamps’ men.
Top scorer: Harry Kane (England). Experienced England should again make a deep run into the tournament, with the Spurs marksman profiting.
Player of the tournament: Lionel Messi (Argentina). The PSG superstar will confirm his status as the greatest player of the modern era, while his chief rival Cristiano Ronaldo will disappoint for Portugal.
John McAuley, Reporter
Champions: Argentina. Surely their time. Copa America champions, unbeaten in 36 – alas, the UAE last Wednesday – Messi in incredible rude health and a squad that includes Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez. Battle-hardened, coupled with Messi’s resurgent brilliance (even if Giovani Lo Celso is a sorry miss): perfect timing.
Surprise package: Uruguay. The appointment of Diego Alonso inspired, the effervescence of Federico Valverde and new goal-scorer extraordinaire Rodrigo Bentancur, and that front trio of Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez and Edinson Cavani. Semi-final run seems set ... if Suarez doesn’t munch anyone, obviously.
Disappointment: France. Only because of the injuries, and the fact England seem a little too obvious. Thought initially the reigning champions would go deep, but then Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku happened. And, on the eve of the whole thing, Karim Benzema. The current Ballon d’Or holder! Crippling.
Top scorer: Neymar (Brazil). Despite the defeat to their great rivals in the semi-final, Brazil’s main man will have sealed the Golden Boot by that point. Been in fantastic form for club, takes penalties for country. Only three away from becoming his country’s all-time leading scorer. Pele slips to second, but still El Rey.
Player of the tournament: Lionel Messi (Argentina). With Argentina victorious, it has to be their captain. If this is to be Messi’s final World Cup, then hopefully he signs off beautifully. Make the most of seeing a true great on the global stage while you can.
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
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INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
Gulf Under 19s final
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MATCH INFO
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Man of the match Harry Kane
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
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The%20specs
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The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
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new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
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We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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