Al Wahda's star midfielder Jorge Valdivia, left, will be absent due to his international call-up to the Chile squad. Adil Alnaimi / Al Ittihad
Al Wahda's star midfielder Jorge Valdivia, left, will be absent due to his international call-up to the Chile squad. Adil Alnaimi / Al Ittihad
Al Wahda's star midfielder Jorge Valdivia, left, will be absent due to his international call-up to the Chile squad. Adil Alnaimi / Al Ittihad
Al Wahda's star midfielder Jorge Valdivia, left, will be absent due to his international call-up to the Chile squad. Adil Alnaimi / Al Ittihad

Al Ain and Al Wahda meet in Arabian Gulf Cup depleted by injuries and call-ups


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // Al Ain and Al Wahda meet for the second time in two weeks on Friday with both severely hampered because of national team call-ups and injuries.

Wahda inflicted Al Ain’s first defeat in the Arabian Gulf League this season at the end of last month and will be looking to replicate that 2-1 success when they host their rivals again at Al Nahyan Stadium in the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Al Ain are the worst hit of the two teams as they have 11 players on national duty including their star Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike.

“We know we travel with a depleted squad but I have a lot of confidence with our bench strength,” said Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach.

“Teams like Al Ain are worst affected in the cup games as we have a majority of the players in the national team. That’s something we can be proud of.

“However, this is also an opportunity for the reserves to prove they too are made up of sterner stuff. It is in games like against Wahda they can rise to the occasion.”

Wahda and Al Ain are both looking for their first win in Group B. Wahda will be without their marquee signing Jorge Valdivia, who is with the Chile national team for their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Brazil.

Wahda are also without the services of several key players through injury, with Hussain Fadhel, the Kuwaiti centre-back, and Emiratis Ahmed Al Akbari, Ismail Matar, the captain, and Hamdan Al Kamali all ruled out.

In Friday’s other Arabian Gulf Cup fixtures, Al Wasl will be at home to Baniyas while Al Shaab make the long journey to Al Dhafra.

Al Shabab will be hoping to consolidate their position at the top of Group B when they face Al Jazira at home on Saturday.

Sharjah meet Dibba and Al Ahli play Al Nasr in Saturday’s late matches.

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UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

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Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results

2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m

Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).

2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m

Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m

Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.

3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m

Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.

4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.

Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.

54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m

Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.

Ain Issa camp:
  • Established in 2016
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  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
  • Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

RESULT

Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')

Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Stoke City v Tottenham

Brentford v Newcastle United

Arsenal v Manchester City

Everton v Manchester United

All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.

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SPECS
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

Sri Lanka's T20I squad

Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.

MATCH INFO

Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')

Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)

Qosty Byogaani

Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny

Four stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
T20 SQUADS

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.