Saudi Arabia were forced to dig deep to launch their play-off campaign for the 2026 World Cup with a 3-2 win over Indonesia in Jeddah on Wednesday, while 2022 hosts Qatar were frustrated in a goalless stalemate with Oman.
Six-time World Cup participants and strong favourites to progress from Group B, Saudi Arabia endured a nervous start at King Abdullah Sports City when Indonesia, chasing a first finals appearance, struck early.
The visitors were awarded a penalty after only 11 minutes when Hassan Al Tambakti was penalised, following a lengthy VAR check, for blocking Jay Idzes’ close-range header with his arm. Dutch-born midfielder Kevin Diks stepped up to convert from the spot, stunning the home support.
Saudi Arabia, though, responded quickly. Saleh Abu Al Shamat, making his competitive international debut, curled a superb left-footed strike from the edge of the area into the far corner to level the match six minutes later. The Al Ahli midfielder almost doubled his tally soon after, rattling the crossbar with a fierce long-range attempt.
By the 36th minute, the hosts were in front. Indonesia winger Yakob Sayuri was adjudged to have fouled Feras Al Brikan in the area, and after another prolonged VAR review, the Al Ahli striker thumped his penalty high into the net to make it 2-1.
Saudi Arabia pressed after the break and should have extended their advantage when goalkeeper Maarten Paes saved brilliantly from Al Brikan’s close-range header. Yet the forward would not be denied, reacting quickest to a rebound just past the hour to notch his second of the night and give Herve Renard’s men a 3-1 cushion.
Indonesia, however, refused to fade. With five minutes remaining, substitute Nawaf Bu Washl conceded a penalty for handball, allowing Diks to slot home his second spot-kick. Tension mounted in stoppage time when Saudi substitute Mohammed Kanno was sent off for dissent after collecting a second yellow card, but the Green Falcons held firm to secure a vital opening win.
“One more step to go. God willing, we’ll make it happen,” Al Brikan said in comments posted on X by the Asian Football Confederation.
“To all the fans, you truly deserve it! God willing, we’ll celebrate together after the next game and qualify to the Fifa World Cup!” Al Shamat said in another post.
The victory sees Saudi Arabia take early control of Group B ahead of their clash with Iraq next Tuesday. Indonesia, meanwhile, face Iraq on Saturday as they attempt to keep alive hopes of reaching the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Earlier on Wednesday, Group A produced a cagey affair as Qatar and Oman battled to a goalless draw at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Qatar, under new coach Julen Lopetegui, dominated possession but struggled to break down a resolute Omani defence. Two-time Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif went closest for the hosts, but was repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini.
“We performed well throughout against a stubborn team that defended well and closed the spaces,” Lopetegui said. “We created several opportunities but couldn’t convert them into goals.”
For Oman, led by Carlos Queiroz, the result preserves hopes of a first World Cup appearance. “A draw is the best result for both teams today,” Queiroz said. “We’ll prepare well to face the UAE and continue chasing our dream.”
With Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Jordan already qualified, Asia’s final two automatic berths will be settled in the coming week.
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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.”
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
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The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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