Germany’s root canal surgery
And then there were two.
So radical has been Germany’s reappraisal of who is best suited to carry the national team from their sudden, brutal slump since they held the title of world champions that only two of the players who defeated Argentina in the World Cup final in 2014 are included in the squad for the first round of qualifying for Euro 2020.
And even that pair, captain Manuel Neuer and midfielder Toni Kroos, find themselves under harsh scrutiny.
The other notable survivor, of course, is Joachim Low, the manager since 2006 and a man apparently equipped with a suit of armour-plating as well as the stylish V-neck jumpers he wears on the touchline. Low was not dismissed by a supportive German Federation after the first-round exit at the Russia World Cup last summer, and he has since survived Germany's relegation from the top tier of the Uefa Nations League.
He now has a radical manifesto, as he outlined to widespread surprise when he announced that a senior trio of allies, Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng, all of Bayern Munich, would not not be called up for this week’s friendly with Serbia and Sunday’s qualifier in the Netherlands.
Furthermore, he said he would not be summoning them at all on his watch.
Progress is thus in the hands of the likes of Joshua Kimmich, the versatile Bayern full-back and midfielder, Leon Goretzka, picked less often than Muller in Bayern’s first team this season, and Niklas Sule, the giant central defender who jousts with Hummels and Boateng for a spot in his club XI.
And of course Neuer, who has Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona breathing down his neck for the gloves, and Kroos, whose form has dipped lately at Real Madrid.
Low talks of a “new chapter”, but unfortunately he was unable to open its first page in person. He missed Monday’s training session with his fresh-faced squad in order to undergo surgery on a dental problem. He hopes that, by Sunday, and a rigorous examination in Amsterdam, his youngsters have found their bite.
Quagliarella adds quantity to quality
Fabio Quagliarella will turn 37 six months before the next European championship finals. Yet he has never been more prolific as a goalscorer, having just passed 20 in a Serie A season for the first time in this, his 14th top-flight campaign.
Hence the call-up for the much-travelled Sampdoria entertainer to the Italy squad.
Roberto Mancini, the Italy manager embarking on his first major tournament campaign, explained: “I could not ignore him, whatever his age, and I think he can give us something.”
Quagliarella, formerly of Juventus, Napoli, Torino, Udinese and Ascoli, and better known for his spectacular goals rather than the quantity of them, was last capped by his country in November 2010, and trusts this long-awaited recall brings better luck.
His Italy career, which amounts to 25 caps and seven goals, took him to two tournaments, one of which ended with a penalty shoot-out quarter-final defeat against Spain (Euro 2008), and the other with a humiliating group stage exit (the 2010 World Cup).
The Great Play-Off Puzzle
Some ongoing, and fiendishly complicated calculations will inform most of the qualifiers over the next eight months.
That is because the Nations League, the competition Uefa introduced to run alongside the Euro 2020 qualifiers – and which has provided some stirring entertainment – has already granted some teams a guaranteed potential spot in the play-offs for the last four spots in the finals should they fail to finish in the top two of their group.
Will this prey on minds, act as a comforting insurance? Quite likely in many cases. In Euro 2020 qualifying Group B, for instance, three nations, Portugal, Ukraine and Serbia have a play-off parachute already banked in case of a slip-up.
Even countries who did not top their Nations League mini-groups can keep half an eye on the pre-set route to the play-offs, because now they can accurately see, from the Nations League standings from last November, where they rank in the queue if and when a play-off-enabled team qualifies automatically.
One example: Wales would make the play-offs if any three of Bosnia, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia or Austria qualify automatically, and Wales fail to finish first or second in their group.
Pole position
The most potent attacking line-up in action in Europe this week? On form, it must be Poland’s.
Three Poles are in the top 10 of the European strikers in the Golden Shoe rankings for the season. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek and Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik have 52 league goals between them.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
McIlroy's struggles in 2016/17
European Tour: 6 events, 16 rounds, 5 cuts, 0 wins, 3 top-10s, 4 top-25s, 72,5567 points, ranked 16th
PGA Tour: 8 events, 26 rounds, 6 cuts, 0 wins, 4 top-10s, 5 top-25s, 526 points, ranked 71st
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets