• The UAE team before their 3-2 victory over Vietnam at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on June 15 which sealed their place in the next round of World Cup qualification. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The UAE team before their 3-2 victory over Vietnam at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on June 15 which sealed their place in the next round of World Cup qualification. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Ali Salmeen celebrates opening the scoring in their 3-2 victory over Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Ali Salmeen celebrates opening the scoring in their 3-2 victory over Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Ali Mabkhout scores UAE's second goal from the spot . Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Ali Mabkhout scores UAE's second goal from the spot . Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Fabio De Lima looks picks up a knock during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Fabio De Lima looks picks up a knock during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE manager Bert van Marwijk. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE manager Bert van Marwijk. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE players celebrate after Mahmoud Khamis' goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE players celebrate after Mahmoud Khamis' goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Mahmoud Khamis scores the third goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Mahmoud Khamis scores the third goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Khalil Ibrahim complains to the referee. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Khalil Ibrahim complains to the referee. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Majed Hassan skips away from Nguyen Quang Hai of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Majed Hassan skips away from Nguyen Quang Hai of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Mahmoud Khamis celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Mahmoud Khamis celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles for possession with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE's Abdullah Ramadan battles for possession with Nguyen Tien Linh of Vietnam. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • UAE fans before the game in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    UAE fans before the game in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Vietnam fans before the game at the Zabeel Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Vietnam fans before the game at the Zabeel Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UAE advance to 2022 World Cup qualification third round after crucial win over Vietnam


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

A fourth victory from four, the final of the quartet right when needed most, and the UAE strode forth.

The national team bound into the third stage of World Cup qualification, defeating Group G frontrunners Vietnam in the decider in Dubai and vaulting through as the top side in the standings. A September date on the road to Qatar 2022 awaits.

From five points adrift, way back when and through four must-win matches in 13 days, to one point out in front. In the end, when the results were totted up and the pandemic-postponed second round finally put to bed, that is all that mattered. With a 3-2 triumph at the Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, on Tuesday, the UAE’s World Cup dream had been salvaged.

The two Alis, Salmeen and Mabkhout, and a diving header from left-back Mahmoud Khamis settled it, ably supplied by the burgeoning Abdullah Ramadan and Bert van Marwijk’s shrewd move to bring in Majed Hassan to thicken his midfield.

Until this encounter, Vietnam had conceded only two goals in seven matches in this round. Yet, the group’s meanest defence sprung a leak when staring down its most prolific attack; the UAE’s treble took their tally for the campaign to 23. All the while, their backline provided the platform for progression, too.

Credit must go to Van Marwijk and his men, who survived the delays and the December 2019 dismissal to get the job done. Victory secure, a new hope emerged with the newish generation on a suffocating evening in the emirate. Breath belatedly caught, the UAE can go again.

The UAE’s World Cup hopes had come down to this, a win necessary to advance as group winners. In the end, the three points confirmed the UAE’s position as one of Asia’s leading 12 teams heading into a final phase, the carrot a second global Finals in the country’s history. Vietnam, for their part, had never before made those latter stages.

But the UAE dashed all aspirations of automatic qualification. After Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, were seen off in two weeks by an aggregate score of 12-1, they displayed their mettle and booming imagination to prevail.

The UAE dominated possession throughout the opening exchanges, seemingly safe in the knowledge they could inflict Vietnam’s first loss in eight competitive fixtures, and then broke their resolve.

Ramadan again rose to the occasion, scooping a delicious ball over the static opposition defence on 32 minutes to set free Salmeen. Typically stationed at the base of midfield, the Al Wasl man controlled the ball beautifully and finished just as well past Bui Tan Truong in the Vietnam net. The hosts, and the home support that crammed inside the allotted 30 per cent capacity, had lift off.

Within six minutes, they were full-throttle towards Round 3. Again, Ramadan was the instigator, the Al Jazira midfielder’s pass forcing Truong to trip Khalil Ibrahim right on the byline. Penalty awarded, Mabkhout strutted forward and stroked home from the spot. The country’s all-time record scorer, already out in front in the qualifier goal charts, climbed to 11.

Like Mabkhout, his side were well worth the lead. They increased it five minutes into the second half. The scorer felt as unlikely as the execution, Khamis pouncing on Fabio De Lima’s parried header to throw himself at the ball and nod into the empty goal.

The UAE had three, Vietnam’s night was run. That corresponding clash, a lifetime ago in November 2019 and before the pandemic pinched the football calendar, had gone to the South-East Asians.

Then, out of nowhere, they pulled two back. With five minutes remaining, forward Nguyen Tien Linh surged free to finish past Ali Khaseif; ditto substitute Tran Minh Vuong in injury time. But Vietnam had leapt to life way too late.

A penny, then, for the thoughts of Park Hang-seo, the team's manager made to sweat through the game from the stands following his one-match touchline ban.

Park’s troubles should be tempered, though, by Vietnam’s progression as one of the round's five best runners-up. In contrast, the UAE required no such calculation or counting upon results in other groups. Pool winners, they rendered redundant the myriad pre-match permutations.

For now and across maybe the next nine months, at least, the quest to Qatar 2022 gets renewed force.

Andor
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LIST OF INVITEES

Shergo Kurdi (am) 
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris

Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E268hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E380Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh208%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

Tell Me Who I Am

Director: Ed Perkins

Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis

Four stars

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi card

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m

6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m

The National selections:

5pm: Valcartier

5.30pm: AF Taraha

6pm: Dhafra

6.30pm: Maqam

7pm: AF Mekhbat

7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi  

First-round leaderbaord

-5 C Conners (Can)

-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);

-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)

Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)

Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng) 

1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)

3 R McIlroy (NI)

4 D Johnson (US)

The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E261hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400Nm%20at%201%2C750-4%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.5L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C999%20(VX%20Luxury)%3B%20from%20Dh149%2C999%20(VX%20Black%20Gold)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
WWE TLC results

Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair

Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins

Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles

Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax

Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match

Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre

Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match

Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match

Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day

R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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