With their homeland battered by typhoons in recent weeks, Japan’s footballers face a crisis of confidence ahead of their Asian Cup defence after Neymar stormed through them in Singapore.
Neymar scored all four Brazil goals in Wednesday’s 4-0 rout of Japan on a Singapore pitch which resembled Rio’s Copacabana beach in places – and may have spared Javier Aguirre’s side further punishment.
“Disgraceful,” raged Thursday’s Nikkan Sports daily, adding, “Neymar toyed with (Japan)”.
The Sports Nippon newspaper stuck the boot into Aguirre for tinkering with his side, asking the Mexican: “What was the point of these tests?”
While Japan could be forgiven a ninth defeat in 11 meetings against the five-times World Cup winners, the Blue Samurai will hardly strike fear into opponents at the Asian Cup in January on current form.
“This is the reality,” talisman Keisuke Honda sniffed after the game, his forlorn expression all too familiar to Japanese fans following the team’s World Cup flop.
“There’s a huge gap. We get properly beaten (by Brazil) every time. There is always someone better than you.”
Japan have shown very few signs of improvement in four games under Aguirre, their only win an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Jamaica last week courtesy of an own goal.
“The players didn’t let their guard down against the best players in the world,” insisted the former Espanyol manager, who made six changes to his starting line-up, dropping Honda and Yuto Nagatomo to the bench, even though Shinji Kagawa had pulled out of the squad with a head trauma.
“I wanted to see if the players had what it takes to perform at such an important tournament as the Asian Cup, where Japan has a responsibility to do well. I discovered a lot of conclusions.”
Aguirre, who led Mexico to the last 16 of the World Cup in 2002 and 2010, has two games next month to reverse Japan’s alarming form before they fly to Australia in the new year.
The 55-year-old, on a record salary for Japan at an estimated $2.45 million a year, has so far failed to live up to his reputation since replacing Italian Alberto Zaccheroni following the World Cup. Failure at the Asian Cup could trigger an early release from his contract.
Japan have lacked end product in attack while their defending was shambolic in Aguirre’s first two games, a 2-0 defeat by Uruguay in Sapporo and a 2-2 draw with Venezuela in Yokohama.
Striker Shinji Okazaki accused Japan’s defenders of being star-struck by Neymar in Singapore.
“We didn’t even have a player who would go in and take him out,” he told the Nikkan Sports. “It’s going to be tough if you’re just watching him do his thing.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
