• The UAE team before their 3-2 victory over Vietnam at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on June 15 which sealed their place in the next round of World Cup qualification. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The UAE team before their 3-2 victory over Vietnam at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on June 15 which sealed their place in the next round of World Cup qualification. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Ali Salmeen celebrates opening the scoring in their 3-2 victory over Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Ali Salmeen celebrates opening the scoring in their 3-2 victory over Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Ali Mabkhout scores UAE's second goal from the spot . Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Ali Mabkhout scores UAE's second goal from the spot . Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Fabio De Lima looks picks up a knock during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Fabio De Lima looks picks up a knock during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE manager Bert van Marwijk. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE manager Bert van Marwijk. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE players celebrate after Mahmoud Khamis' goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE players celebrate after Mahmoud Khamis' goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Mahmoud Khamis scores the third goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Mahmoud Khamis scores the third goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Khalil Ibrahim complains to the referee. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Khalil Ibrahim complains to the referee. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Majed Hassan skips away from Nguyen Quang Hai of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Majed Hassan skips away from Nguyen Quang Hai of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Mahmoud Khamis celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Mahmoud Khamis celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles for possession with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles for possession with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE fans before the game in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE fans before the game in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Vietnam fans before the game at the Zabeel Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Vietnam fans before the game at the Zabeel Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National

World Cup 2022 qualifiers: How can UAE make it through to the finals?


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE’s bid to reach the 2022 World Cup has resumed, with the third and final round of qualification getting under way. Here are the details.

What is it?

The third round of qualification for the 2022 global finals. The UAE progressed to this stage by finishing top of their group in phase 2, when they won all four of their rescheduled qualifiers in June to turn around their campaign. Bert van Marwijk's side eventually sealed Group G by a solitary point, ahead of Vietnam. Their record stood at six wins and two defeats from eight matches.

Who qualifies from Round 3?

There are four direct spots up for grabs for next year’s tournament, with the potential for a fifth berth via a series of play-offs. The 12 remaining teams have been divided into two groups – A and B – with the top two sides in each booking their place in Qatar. The two third-placed teams then face one another in a single-match play-off, with the winner moving on to the intercontinental play-offs, where they face a final chance to qualify for the finals.

Group A

For the draw, which took place on July 1, the UAE were seeded in Pot 3 in accordance with a special set of Fifa rankings at that time. Iran were placed in Pot 1, with South Korea in Pot 2. Current Fifa standings are in brackets. The teams will play each other home and away.

Iran (26)

South Korea (36)

UAE (68)

Iraq (70)

Syria (80)

Lebanon (98)

UAE's fixtures

The national team will play all home matches at Al Wasl’s Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.

1) UAE v Lebanon - Sep 2, 2021: Result: 0-0

2) Syria v UAE - Sep 7, 2021

3) UAE v Iran - Oct 7, 2021

4) UAE v Iraq - Oct 12, 2021

5) South Korea v UAE - Nov 11, 2021

6) Lebanon v UAE - Nov 16, 2021

7) UAE v Syria - Jan 27, 2022

8) Iran v UAE - Feb 1, 2022

9) Iraq v UAE - Mar 24, 2022

10) UAE v South Korea - Mar 29, 2022

UAE's finals history

The UAE have only once previously qualified for a World Cup, in 1990. They reached the third round of Asian qualification for Russia 2018, only to finish fourth in Group B, behind Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Managing the separation process

  • Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
  • Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
  • Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
  • If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
  • The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
  • Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
  • Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.  
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Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

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Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

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Transmission: 8-speed auto

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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.”

Updated: September 04, 2021, 4:58 AM