England manager Gareth Southgate hailed his impressive youngsters following a comprehensive Nations League win over Iceland - but reserved special praise for Harry Kane for setting the example to follow.
The Three Lions brought down the curtain on a difficult year of international football with a comfortable 4-0 victory at Wembley in which Phil Foden starred.
The Manchester City forward had made his debut against Iceland in September before being sent home for breaking Covid-19 regulations and being dropped for the following month's triple-header of England games as part of his punishment.
But he returned with a bang and his late brace of fine finishes capped a happy end to the year for Southgate and his squad as they secured victory in what was a dead rubber, given the weekend loss to Belgium meant England could not qualify for the finals.
With Declan Rice and Mason Mount on the scoresheet and decent performances from the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish, Southgate was delighted with the collective effort of his young stars against Iceland - but highlighted the impact the more senior members of the squad have made of late.
"I think we are very conscious of a crop of young players coming through that we think will be fabulous for England for years to come," he said.
"I think it was great for the public to get a glimpse of that and they were surrounded by some excellent professionals and those senior players have been outstanding, in the last couple of months in particular.
"In the last three days they really set the tone - it would have been easy for us not to perform well tonight. There was every excuse possible not to perform well.
"But that was not the mentality of the seniors and I have to say the captain led that right from the start - he led the training, you could see his mentality for the game."
From Harry Maguire's Greek court case and the high-profile bio breach by Mason Greenwood and Foden to injury headaches, empty stands and his own bout of coronavirus, this has been a tough autumn for Southgate.
But seeing Foden blossom into a bona fide England international at least brought it to an end on a positive note.
"Tonight's performance is why we picked him in September because we know what he is capable of," he said of the 20-year-old.
"I'm really pleased for him and his family, to have the experience he had in September is really tough for a youngster and we all make mistakes.
"What we were intent on doing was making sure that when he came in this month in a difficult situation, you are walking in the door and you're looking at everybody's faces and you know the last time you saw them it was complicated.
"It took him a few days I think to settle into the camp and start to smile and relax a bit more - then tonight we felt was a really good game for him.
"We know what he is capable of doing and he is one who is going to be exciting for the next few years for England."
Despite the obvious positives, Southgate did still highlight the fact the recent camps have been damaged by the off-field behaviours of some of his players - and called for improvements in that area moving forward.
"We've been very, very close to achieving the objective," he added. "But we've also got to recognise that there are lessons we have got to learn from this period. We created dramas for ourselves on and off the pitch, which made life more complicated.
"We've been nowhere near having availability of all of our players and we have got to have a look at why that has been and reflect on that - so that is the balance really."
Iceland manager Erik Hamren was equally impressed by England but believes Euro 2020 may come too early for Southgate's young talent and feels they may need longer to develop before challenging for honours.
"I think they can be good in the summer," he said.
"They have quite a good mix but if you look, then winning something, a big tournament, maybe they need to wait some more years until those young ones now coming up.
"They are really good, so maybe in four or five years there will be a top team, that is my opinion."
The game also brought down the curtain on Hamren's reign as Iceland boss.
The 63-year-old opted to step down after losing the Euro 2020 play-off to Hungary last week, before his father died over the weekend.
"It has been some tough days, the loss versus Hungary it was taken really hard by me, the staff and the players," he added.
"We did a good game against Denmark but not today - then my father also, yes, it has been a lot of emotional days and that will be the same when I say goodbye to the staff and players because I really like them and did some good work with them."
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.”
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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