Moroccan captain Romain Saiss says he will “give everything” to be fit to help his history-making side continue their incredible World Cup dream, but insisted he will not put his side’s chances of reaching the final at risk.
The defender, 32, was stretchered off 57 minutes into Morocco’s quarter-final victory against Portugal on Saturday, as his side triumphed 1-0 to become the first African country, and first Arab nation, to make the last four of a global finals. They face world champions France at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
Saiss, who plies his trade for Turkey’s Besiktas, has been carrying an injury during the tournament, and was not certain to play against Portugal. Morocco were already missing his central defensive partner, Nayef Aguerd, through an injury sustained in the last-16 penalty-shootout win against Spain.
Asked on Saturday if he would be fit for the semi-final, Saiss said: “I will try, I don’t know. We will see tomorrow; we will do some exams to see what kind of injury I have. But I will try my best to be on the pitch. I hope it will be OK.
“After that, if I feel it’s too difficult, I will not take any risks to put my team in trouble just to play the semi-final. But, of course, I will give everything I can to be here, like I did to be here for 55 minutes today.”
On how the whole squad has contributed to Morocco’s run, he said: “It just shows the character and the mentality of this team. So everyone is ready to play; it doesn’t matter if they play for a while, or if they come in every game.
“Everyone is focused and ready to play. That’s how you go really far in this tournament.”
Saiss, though, has been integral to a Morocco defence that has conceded only once in Qatar, and that came via a freak own goal from Aguerd, in the 2-1 group-stage victory against Canada.
Walid Regragui’s men, who became the first team from their country in 36 years to qualify for the World Cup knockouts, finished top of their group, defeating Belgium, then the world’s No 2-ranked side, and drawing with 2018 runners-up Croatia.
“We are really happy, really proud,” Saiss said. “Because it’s amazing for all the country, for all Africa, so we are really, really happy.
“We know each game is really tough because we’re facing only top teams in the World Cup, so it’s even better after when you win. Just happy for us, for our families, and our fans.”
As to whether Morocco ever dreamt of making it this far in Qatar, Saiss said: “We had a dream, of course. Dreaming is free. So we can dream. But, after, to do it is different. We put a lot of energy in each game – physically and mentally it’s hard, but at the end it’s so good.
“I know we made history. But we want to keep making history. We’ll see. It’s important now to recover well and to prepare the semi-final.”
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
