Kylian Mbappe regards him as “the best right-back in the world”. Erling Haaland rates him among the best teammates he has regularly thanked for goal-making passes. He has won a European Champions League alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. He has shared a league title with Lionel Messi.
So if you judge a footballer by the company he has kept, Achraf Hakimi, who on Wednesday embarks on his second World Cup as Morocco’s most coveted footballer, is uniquely blessed.
He has been an esteemed colleague of both the greats of the 21st century – he rose to Real Madrid’s first-team at the tail-end of Ronaldo’s time there; he is thriving at Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain – and of the two most feted forwards of the next generation. Hakimi helped create space and supplied crosses for Haaland at Borussia Dortmund. He does the same for Mbappe at PSG.
His haul of club medals is stacking up high and varied, too, stunningly so for a footballer who only turned 24 this month. Besides the European Cup and Club World Cup with Madrid, where he came through the academy, there’s a German Super Cup with Dortmund, a Serie A title with Inter Milan, and last season’s Ligue 1 title with PSG.
But it would be fair to report that, over the course of his 54 caps with Morocco, the trophies have been kept at far greater distance. Being so decorated at club level, Hakimi finds himself under extra pressure to elevate the Atlas Lions towards the sorts of podiums he and several of his compatriots know from their club careers in Europe and in Africa.
Morocco have failed to reach the semi-finals in each of the last three Africa Cup of Nations and took home just one point from the last World Cup.
Yet manager Walid Regragui will today pick a side to take on Croatia, finalists at Russia 2018, in which a pair of European Champions League winners, Hakimi and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech should feature, while, most likely, also finding a place for his other star full-back, Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui, a Champions League semi-finalist with Ajax in 2019.
At the back and front of his preferred XI are Yassine Bounou and Youssef En-Nesyri, who won the 2019-20 Europa League with Sevilla and he can call on a trio of African Champions League holders – in Reda Tagnaouti, Yahya Attiatallah and Yahya Jabrane – who, under Regragui, won Africa’s biggest club prize with Wydad in June.
That the manager only switched, two months later, to coaching the national team means he has had limited time with the squad. But not least of Regragui’s successes has been reintegrating two of the club-level high-achievers after they were exiled under his predecessor.
Neither Mazraoui nor Ziyech had easy relationships with Vahid Halilhodzic, whose three-year tenure ended in August – Mazraoui had been absent from national consideration for almost two years, Ziyech for 12 months.
When Ziyech, short of game time at Chelsea, scored from within his own half in last week’s World Cup warm-up match against Georgia, expectation for what he might give Morocco on his comeback only heightened.
The late withdrawal, with injury, of Olympique Marseille’s Amine Harit from the World Cup plans puts added responsibility on creators such as Ziyech and the attacking full-backs.
Regragui’s short time on the training pitch with the squad means he must trust the seniors players’ best instincts. “I want an attacking mindset, and a possession-based game, although not excessively,” he declared on the eve of the tournament kick-off.
That means Hakimi galloping, as much as is wise, down his flank, and Mazraoui, a natural right-back who may be deployed on the opposite wing, advancing down his, and the width in turn opening space for Ziyech.
The challenge is to impose that forward-thinking, keep-ball game against a Croatia midfield that has few peers at this World Cup. Fitness permitting, Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic will remain loyal to the players who served him so well in Russia.
Ivan Rakitic has retired from internationals, but Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, Tottenham Hotspur’s Ivan Perisic and the ageless Luka Modric are still key, while Marcelo Brozovic reports he has recovered from the thigh problem that kept him out of action through most of the last two months.
Nor will any of that quartet need fresh insight or warnings about the drive, energy, or precise passing and shooting of Hakimi.
He won his prizes at Madrid alongside Modric and Kovacic. He conquered Italy in the same Inter team as Perisic and Brozovic, and heard, from them, all the stories of how Croatia’s outsiders, ranked 20th by Fifa ahead of the 2018 World Cup, matched all the way to the final. Morocco, currently ranked 22nd, should take inspiration from that.
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
