Asia’s convoluted World Cup qualification process saw the UAE kick-start their campaign with a 3-1 win over Qatar in Doha on October 5 before succumbing to a 1-0 home defeat to Iran five days later.
It leaves the national team third in Group A on three points behind leaders Uzbekistan and Iran.
Plenty of matches have been played to get to this point, and there are still many to go. But at least there is something tangible to aim for at this stage.
With 18 teams left, there are eight places for the main event in the United States, Mexico and Canada to play for.
The UAE know that if they finish in the top two of their six-team group, a first World Cup appearance since 1990 will be theirs. Fail to do that, and they still have a chance to make it, but things get a little complicated.
Direct qualification
The third round of Asian qualifying involves 18 teams, split into three groups as follows.
Group A (world rankings in brackets)
Iran (20)
Qatar (34)
Uzbekistan (61)
UAE (69)
Kyrgyzstan (102)
North Korea (110)
Group B
South Korea (23)
Iraq (55)
Jordan (68)
Oman (76)
Palestine (96)
Kuwait (136)
Group C
Japan (18)
Australia (24)
Saudi Arabia (56)
Bahrain (80)
China (87)
Indonesia (133)
The top two teams of each group qualify directly for the World Cup.
The fifth and six placed sides are out – but those finishing third and fourth remain in with a shout.
Fourth-round repechage
The six sides who finish third or fourth in the groups are then split into two groups of three teams each. The teams will play against each other once in a centralised venue. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup.
Still, there is yet another safety net for those who don’t top the groups.
Fifth-round final chance
The runners-up of each three-team group face each other home and away in a two-leg play-off. Even then, the winners are not quite able to book their flights to the main event in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The absolute last chance
If things seem complicated so far, then it goes even more weird right at the last.
The winner of the two-team play-off will be Asia’s representative at an inter-confederation play-off tournament.
That competition will involve six teams – one from each continental confederation apart from Europe, plus one additional team from the confederation of the host country – to decide the last two World Cup places.
Two of the teams will be seeded based on the Fifa rankings. The seeded teams will play the winners of the first two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams.
Make sense?
UAE’s third round results and fixtures
Thursday, v Qatar at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Doha – UAE won 3-1.
Tuesday, v Iran at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain – UAE lost 1-0.
October 10, v North Korea at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
October 15, v Uzbekistan at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent.
November 14, v Kyrgyzstan at home.
November 19, v Qatar at home.
March 20, 2025, v Iran away.
March 25, 2025, v North Korea away.
June 5, 2025, v Uzbekistan at home.
June 10, 2025, v Kyrgyzstan away.
What are their chances?
The UAE could not have gotten off to a better start, recording a 3-1 win over back-to-back Asian champions Qatar in Doha. That was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Iran in Al Ain.
Iran and Qatar are by far the strongest teams in Group A, meaning the UAE have already faced their most difficult opponents in their first two matches.
Three points is a decent return for Paulo Bento's side, leaving them third behind leaders Uzbekistan and Iran in second on goal difference.
Next up for the national team is the visit of North Korea on October 10, followed by a trip to Tashkent five days later to face Uzbekistan.
“It is going to be a long race and journey, and nothing will be decided in the first two games,” Bento, the UAE coach, said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
AIDA%20RETURNS
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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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.”
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
EA Sports FC 24
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
