Scotland's long major tournament exile is over after a penalty shoot-out win over Serbia in Belgrade secured their place at delayed-Euro 2020 on Thursday.
North Macedonia, Hungary and Slovakia also won playoff games to secure spots at the tournament which was postponed until June 2021, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
An extra year's wait will not matter to Scotland, who had gone through 10 failed qualifying campaigns since their last major tournament, the 1998 World Cup, and nearly threw away their play-off final against Serbia.
Steve Clarke's team led courtesy of Ryan Christie's strike early in the second half in the rain in Belgrade, but Luka Jovic headed in to make it 1-1 in the 90th minute, forcing extra time.
There were no more goals, and Scotland triumphed 5-4 on penalties as goalkeeper David Marshall saved Aleksandar Mitrovic's last spot kick, sparking joyous scenes of celebration in an empty stadium.
Unbeaten in nine games, Scotland can look forward to a trip to Wembley to play England, and will also face the Czech Republic and Croatia in Glasgow in Group D at the finals.
"The way the game went tonight, conceding that late equaliser and still digging in. Then big 'Marsh' comes up, amazing, unbelievable," said Celtic star Christie.
Struggling to hold back tears, he added: "I'm gone. It's for the whole nation, it's been a horrible year for everyone. We knew coming into the game we could give a little something to the country and I hope everyone back home is having a party tonight.
"We've been through so many years and it's the monkey off the back now."
There was no such joy for Northern Ireland, who went to Euro 2016 but will miss out on the next European Championship after losing 2-1 in extra time to Slovakia in Belfast.
Milan Skriniar's late own goal gave Ian Baraclough's side a lifeline after Juraj Kucka put Slovakia ahead, but Michal Duris won it for Slovakia in the 110th minute.
Slovakia, who beat the Republic of Ireland on penalties in the semi-finals, will go into Group E at the finals with Poland, Spain and Sweden.
Hungary came from behind to stun Iceland and secure their place, two late goals in Budapest giving them a 2-1 victory.
Iceland looked set to reach a third straight major tournament after Gylfi Sigurdsson's early free-kick slipped through the grasp of goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi in the 11th minute.
However, Hungary equalised in the 88th minute when Loic Nego, a naturalised Hungarian born in France, pounced to score after Kari Arnason diverted the ball into his path in the box.
And the home side grabbed the winner as Dominik Szoboszlai's fine low effort sealed a 2-1 victory in the second minute of injury time.
Twice World Cup runners-up, Hungary ended a 30-year major tournament absence when they went to Euro 2016 and reached the last 16.
They will go into Group F at the Euro and will come up against World Cup holders France, Germany and reigning European champions Portugal, with two group games at home in Budapest.
North Macedonia will make their tournament debut after veteran 37-year-old striker Goran Pandev scored their winner in the 56th minute in Tbilisi.
The Balkan nation, who sit 65th in FIFA's world rankings, will go into Group C alongside the Netherlands, Austria and Ukraine.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
- Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
- Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm
Saturday:
- Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
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Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
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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.”
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Four stars
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
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Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
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