After chastening experiences at the last two World Cups, England go to the finals in Brazil with a new wave of youth supporting Wayne Rooney.
But there is much more caution around this squad than for the ‘Golden Generation’ that went to the 2006 World Cup in Germany and lost on penalties to Portugal in the last eight.
Four years later, things had regressed further as a side coached by Fabio Capello struggled through a straightforward group before crashing 4–1 to Germany in the last 16.
England’s 1966 World Cup success frames the country’s perception of its place in the global pecking order, and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke had to backtrack after suggesting last September that the team stood no chance of winning in Brazil.
Manager Roy Hodgson, who succeeded Capello shortly before Euro 2012 – where England reached the quarter–finals – has been obliged to toe a line between pragmatism and cheery optimism.
“We won’t fear anybody and in the same way we will respect everybody. The players will be desperate to do well,” he said.
“We all know the result everybody wants and that’s to repeat 1966. We all know that’s not going to be easy, but it’s great to be there trying to do it.”
Hodgson has named a 23 man squad, with seven players on standby if any of those named are injured prior to the June 2 deadline, with veterans Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard included.
But it is also marked by the arrival of teenagers Luke Shaw and Raheem Sterling and 20–year–old Ross Barkley.
Only six players have previous World Cup experience. Out have gone the likes of Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand, rocks of the defence over the past decade.
England qualified as the unbeaten winners of Uefa qualifying Group H, but they were given a reality check in November when losses to Chile and Germany at Wembley saw them register back–to–back home defeats for the first time in 36 years.
December’s World Cup draw only served to further dampen expectations. England were paired with Italy and Uruguay, both of whom are currently above them in the Fifa rankings, and Costa Rica, prompting ‘Group of Death’ headlines in British tabloids.
Hodgson has been eager to improve England’s control of possession – a historic weakness – but pace in forward areas remains their key asset.
They were dominated in possession terms by both Chile and Germany, while Hodgson suggested after a 0–0 draw in Ukraine last September that England would abandon attempts to play out from the back against teams who press high up the pitch.
England’s most recent friendly, a 1–0 win over Denmark in March, saw Hodgson attempt to harness the momentum generated by Liverpool’s impressive domestic form.
His starting XI contained no fewer than five Liverpool players, although the positional fluidity characteristic of Brendan Rodgers’s side was not apparent.
Hodgson can nonetheless draw solace from the fact that his two key players, Gerrard and Rooney, are in top form.
A prolific campaign with Liverpool has seen Daniel Sturridge emerge as the clear choice to partner Rooney, while goalkeeper Joe Hart has overcome a mid–season wobble that momentarily cost him his place in the Manchester City team.
In defence, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill have established themselves as Hodgson’s first–choice centre–back pairing.
In midfield Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere has recovered from the hairline foot fracture he suffered against Denmark, while the emergence of young midfielders such as Adam Lallana, Barkley and Sterling has softened the absence through injury of Theo Walcott.
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
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.”
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
