The UAE’s 2013 Beach Soccer World Cup campaign ended in disappointment on Tuesday as they went down 6-4 to the USA in the Group A dead rubber in Papeete.
Played in the rain and in front of small crowd, the match inevitably had a sense of anticlimax despite the 10 goals and some exciting action.
The UAE took the lead straight from the kickoff, Hasan Ali scoring with a shot from the half way line. Within minutes, Nicolas Perera, who scored twice in the last match against Tahiti, equalised for the USA.
Mohamed Al Jasmi, the UAE keeper, was once again in top form, denying the Americans with string of excellent saves, but he could nothing to stop Alessandro Canale from scoring with five minutes of the first period left.
Seconds later, UAE star striker Ali Karim finally broke his duck in the competition to make the core 2-2 at the first interval.
Tow goals by Perera and Canale in the first five minutes of the second period gave the USA a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the match.
The UAE reserve goalkeeper Abbas Hussain then replaced the overworked Al Jasmi for his first taste of action in the tournament. Karim, far more involved than in previous matches, had several chances to decrease the deficit but there would be no more addition to the scoreline in the second period.
Perera completed his hat-trick at the start of the final period to give the USA a comfortable 5-2 lead and the UAE looked to be departing the competition with a whimper. However, Hasan Ali pulled one back to raise hopes of a comeback.
After 30 minutes, Hussain then emulated Al Jasmi by scoring with a sensational volley from inside his own area to set up an exciting finish to the match. The UAE couldn’t add to their tally, and Jason Leopoldo wrapped up a 6-4 scoreline for the Stars and Stripes with the best goal of the match, a sideway scissors kick from his goalkeepers long clearance.
The result means that the USA finished third in Group A behind Spain and Tahiti, while the UAE, who lost all three matches, finished bottom.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
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- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
