France manager Didier Deschamps says England counterpart Gareth Southgate does not get the credit he deserves in his own country, as the two get set to meet in the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar.
Deschamps, one of only three men to win the global title as a player and a manager, is seeking to become the first coach in 60 years to retain the World Cup. France lifted the trophy for a second time four years ago, when they defeated Croatia in the final in Moscow.
Southgate, meanwhile, led England in 2018 to their first World Cup semi-final for 28 years – they lost in extra-time to Croatia – while he took his team to last year’s Euro 2020 final. England’s first major final since 1966, they were beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley Stadium.
Southgate, manager since 2016, came into Qatar on the back of some criticism in England. His side were without a win in six matches leading into the tournament but are unbeaten in Qatar.
On Sunday, they defeated Senegal 3-0 in the last 16 to set up Saturday’s mouth-watering match-up against France at Al Bayt Stadium.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Deschamps said: “I very much like Gareth. We have met on a number of occasions and have talked about a number of things.
“Not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country; that isn’t because he wasn’t a good footballer himself – he had a long and distinguished career, and he is also a very good coach.
“He has enabled England to get some very good results over the years and I very much like him.”
England’s success on Saturday will likely depend on how well their handle Kylian Mbappe, the France forward who leads the goalscoring charts in Qatar, with five goals.
Mbappe has been in scintillating form all round, scoring twice and assisting the other in his team’s 3-1 last-16 victory against Poland.
“I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian, as our previous opponents did,” Deschamps said. “But he is in a position to make the difference.
“Even in the last match when he didn’t have his best match, he didn’t show his top form compared to previous games, he was still decisive.
“We have other players that can be dangerous as well and that helps us not to be over-dependent on Kylian. But Kylian is Kylian, and he always will be. He has that capacity to make the difference at any moment in the match.”
Meanwhile, France captain Hugo Lloris, who is set to surpass Lilian Thuram to become France's record appearance-maker with 143 caps, said his team can handle to strain of a World Cup quarter-final.
"The players know how to deal with pressure," Lloris said. “But there are some players who weren't involved in the last few tournaments. We can help them and talk them through things, but we are all ready.
"It is the quarter-final of the World Cup, so we know what it means. There is not much to say, it is a big game."
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
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Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
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116 pitches
76 nations
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15 Lebanese teams
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