England v Slovakia, Sunday 8pm UAE time, Abu Dhabi Sports 3HD
It is Slovakia again. It is a game to stir unpleasant memories for England, the day that, with the benefit of hindsight, their Euro 2016 began to go wrong.
It is less than three months since Roy Hodgson made six changes, saw his side register 30 attempts but no goal in a stalemate and, rather than winning the group, saw them plunged into the tougher half of the draw and the ultimately catastrophic meeting with Iceland.
Fast forward 10 weeks and some things have changed, but others remain the same. Hodgson is gone, along with Jack Wilshere. The midfielder’s last competitive start came against Slovakia. His next will come for Bournemouth, a development few anticipated even when he looked woefully out of touch in Saint-Etienne. Sam Allardyce has been appointed, but every member of the new manager’s starting 11 was in France.
Joe Hart remains in goal, despite an awful Euro 2016 and aided by the withdrawal of his major rival, Fraser Forster. Wayne Rooney retains the captaincy, meaning he will overhaul David Beckham and become England’s most capped outfield player Sunday.
Allardyce has taken the unusual step of naming his team two days early. It shows his confidence and a faith in two of England’s most gifted young players, Raheem Sterling and John Stones, who, for very different reasons, experienced demoralising European Championships, but not in two more, Dele Alli and Ross Barkley. The Tottenham midfielder seems Rooney’s designated understudy. The Evertonian is not even in the squad.
A preference for the captain has consequences. Rooney has been restored to the No 10 role, his favourite position, in what is probably his favourite environment. His displays in major tournaments have been decidedly patchy but he has been unrivalled in ensuring England reach them. Thirty of his record 53 goals have come in qualifiers, 14 of them in the last two campaigns alone. England have a recent habit of landing in relatively weak qualifying groups and Rooney is a reason why they have tended to ensure smooth progress.
Now they are pitted with Slovakia, Slovenia, Scotland, Lithuania and Malta. It is tempting to regard Marek Hamsik, the one world-class player possessed by any of their immediate rivals, as the principal obstacle to a place in Russia in 2018. The Napoli captain illustrated his considerable talent against Russia in France. He was subdued against England, partly because Hodgson’s team dominated possession. He ought to be more of a threat on home soil in Trnava.
England will look to Harry Kane for incision, although he extended his record of never scoring a Premier League goal in August. It will be intriguing to see if there is a focus on set-pieces, which Allardyce’s previous sides showed, although it is a safe assumption that, unlike Hodgson, he will not ask Kane to take the corners. It will be instructive, too, how quickly they play the ball forward. As he admits himself, Allardyce is unable to shake off an unwanted reputation as a long-ball merchant, but he has selected Stones, a footballing defender. They are not natural allies but the 61-year-old has long insisted he is more flexible and progressive than depicted.
His ego explains why some are reluctant to afford him credit. He has spent this week wondering if there will be a Sam Allardyce Suite at St George’s Park, England’s training centre, and wondering if he was overlooked for the job in 2006, when Steve McClaren was chosen, on “political” grounds.
“I was good enough then,” he said this week.
We are about to discover if he is good enough now, although the real examination may come in Russia.
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When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
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Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
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Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
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Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Other workplace saving schemes
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- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Kanye%20West
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Game Changer
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Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
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Winner: Golden Jaguar, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash
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FIGHT%20CARD
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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