DUBAI // Three-time Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup champions Russia will face the might of South American powerhouse Brazil in the semi-final on Friday after being edged 3-1 by Iran on penalties in a thrilling battle for top spot in Group B on Thursday night.
The Iranians should have won in regulation time, up 3-2 as the match headed into the final 55 seconds, but Alexsey Makarov managed to find the equaliser in those frantic final moments to force the game to three minutes of extra time, and then penalties, where Russia could find the target only once.
The win means Iran, the 2013 champions, will meet Tahiti. The Pacific Islanders were earlier drubbed 10-4 by Brazil in the battle for top spot in Group A, but Angelo Schirinzi, the Tahiti coach, was not complaining.
“I prefer playing Iran because Russia is very strong,” said Schirinzi, whose team faded away after going toe-to-toe in the first two periods of their match against the Brazilians.
Tahiti rallied twice in the second period – first from 0-2 and then from 2-4 to level the scores, but Bruno da Silva, who had opened the scoring for Brazil inside the first 40 seconds of the match, fired in his third of the period, five seconds from the break, to give them a 5-4 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
In the third period, Da Silva added one more to take his tally for the night to five as the Brazilians took full advantage of the tiring Tahitians.
“The first two periods were really good,” said Schirinzi. “We were 4-4 and then 5-4, but then we were very tired because of the preparations – we had only five days. Other than that, I am very happy.”
Schirinzi warns fatigue is going to be a problem for the Brazilians as well over the coming two days.
“Brazil are a really good team, of course,” he said. “They are very fit, but after three days, four days, it’s going to get difficult for them as well.”
Earlier, the UAE finished their group campaign without a point, losing their final match against Poland 2-0 on penalties after finishing at 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
“I think today we played very well, but we missed so many chances during the game,” said Gustavo Henrique, the UAE coach. “That was the crucial thing for us. We got plenty of space and made the most of it, but we just could not find the target.”
The UAE, however, could still redeem themselves by winning their remaining two matches in the tournament to finish fifth. They will first have to beat Egypt, who finished third in Group B, on Friday in a classification match for the fifth to eighth spots, and then win the fifth-place play-off against the winners of the duel between the USA and Poland.
“I have told the boys, tomorrow we start a new tournament and we want to get fifth place,” Henrique added. “Hope we can win the two matches and finish fifth on Saturday.”
Results
Egypt 5 USA 3
UAE 2 Poland 2 (2-0 pen)
Brazil 10 Tahiti 4
Iran 3 Russia 3 (3-1 pen)
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
RESULT
Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City: Jesus (9')
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
