His nickname is "Cristiano" because of his looks. Baghdad-born Ahmed Yasin, 21, plays in the same position as Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and they are both international footballers, although the similarities begin to disappear thereafter.
Yasin, whose family moved from Iraq to Sweden in 1994, plays his club football for Orebro SK (OSK), recently relegated from the Swedish top-flight.
He is not a big star, but that changes when he represents his homeland for he is seen as the brightest hope in what his coach terms "the new Iraq".
He will play for Iraq against the UAE on Friday night in the final of the Gulf Cup in Bahrain's National Stadium.
Yasin missed a penalty in Tuesday's semi-final penalty shoot out victory against Bahrain, but his teammates did not as the three-time Gulf Cup champions triumphed 4-2 in front of a full house.
Yasin's status in Iraq has led to one Swedish newspaper describing his football life as Jekyll and Hyde. He is popular in his homeland, yet barely known in Sweden.
His club think he has potential to improve, but he was not a regular starter last season, although he featured more towards the close as his side went down.
Yasin's new agent said that the Swedish second division is not the place for an international footballer.
Yet his player is under contract and there is no rush of bigger clubs waiting to sign him, especially as he has done little in Sweden's top league to convince others to show interest.
Yasin signed for Orebro, a university city of 107,000 in central Sweden, in 2011 from BK Forward, a smaller third division team in the same town.
He played there with Jiloan Hamad, born in Azerbaijan but, like Yasin, of Kurdish descent.
Hamad chose to play for Sweden and has shone as the captain of Malmo, the 2010 Swedish champions. Like another Swedish immigrant Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Hamad became an international after excelling in his adopted home.
Yasin is still to excel in Sweden and will never play for the Swedish national side, but he is already a star for Iraq.
sports@thenational.ae
KEY BATTLES - UAE v IRAQ
Ahmed Khalil v Noor Sabri
The Iraq goalkeeper has conceded just once in four matches and had kept a clean sheet for 330 minutes before Hussain Ali Baba beat him in their semi-final. Khalil will have to come up with something special to get past him.
Mohanad Salem v
Younis Mahmoud
Picked ahead of Hamdan Al Kamali for the semi-finals, Salem turned in a sturdy performance against Kuwait. Mahmoud, after his goal against Bahrain in their semi-final, will be a stiffer challenge, but Salem has worked well alongside Mohammed Ahmed.
Omar Abdulrahman v
Ahmed Yasin
Voted the Best Arab Player of 2012, Yasin has not had a great tournament up to now. But the final could just be the spur he needs. And, of course, he will have the added incentive of matching his talents against the classy Abdulrahman.
RECENT HISTORY
UAE v Iraq in Gulf Cups
UAE 0 wins
Iraq 3 wins
Draws 6
The recent results
2011 Asian Cup
UAE 0 Iraq 1
2010 Gulf Cup
UAE 0 Iraq 0
2009 UAE International Cup
UAE 0 Iraq 1
2008 Friendlies
UAE 0 Iraq 1
UAE 2 Iraq 2
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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.
