The UAE will resume their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign next March after the Asian Football Confederation approved the new dates on Wednesday.
The second round of qualification was postponed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the rescheduled fixtures, slated for September and October, again pushed back in August. That qualification round was originally to conclude this month.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions Committee have now agreed that Stage 2 should be completed by June 15, with Match Day 7 and 8 taking place in March, and Match Day 9 and 10 in June. The final round is then to begin the following September and completed by March 2022, while the Asian and Intercontinental play-offs are proposed for that May or June. The Fifa World Cup will be staged in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
Currently, the UAE sit fourth in the five-team Group G, five points off leaders Vietnam, although they do have a game in hand over each of their rivals. The national team still have to play Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam at home, and Indonesia away.
The top team in each of the eight groups and the four best runners-up will advance to the third stage of qualifying. The UAE have only once previously appeared at a World Cup, in 1990.
At present, the national team are managed by Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto, who was appointed in July. The squad have been training this week in Dubai ahead of a friendly double-header against Tajikistan, on Thursday, and Bahrain, on Monday.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
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Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
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5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
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500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
