JOHANNESBURG // The health of the World Cup, and not just the Confederations Cup, will be under scruntiny today when South Africa face New Zealand in a match that may have consequences for the host nation, for Fifa and for football.
It has long been accepted that a strong host nation is crucial to the success and atmosphere of a World Cup finals and by choosing a team ranked 72nd in the world to stage the 2010 event, Fifa were always taking a gamble, one which will look particularly shaky if South Africa, who drew their opening fixture with Iraq, stumble again in Rustenburg and lose the faith of their restless fans.
With Benni McCarthy omitted from the squad and manager Joel Santana yet to win over the fans it would be difficult to predict a strong performance from the host team next year.
That will worry Fifa and its president Sepp Blatter, who has staked his career on making his African dream come true, because the host nation so often sets the tone for a successful World Cup.
Six host nations have won the World Cup, two have been runners up, three have lost in the semi-finals, four have lost in the quarter-finals, and three have gone out in either the second round or the second group phase.
Now the fear is that South Africa could be the first hosts to go out in the first round if their form does not improve.
They will have to restore the morale in the dressing room, particularly after Teko Modise, their star player, criticised his side's tactics in the goalless draw against Iraq.
"I didn't get many chance to create anything because we played very deep, we had too many defenders in our team and couldn't go forward," he complained. "It was really hard. Hopefully we're going to change our style in the next games.
"Hopefully on Wednesday the mindset is going to be different but it's going to be a difficult game for us because it really is a six pointer."
The situation for Iraq and Spain, who also play today, is very different. Spain go into the match unbeaten in 33 matches and needing only to avoid defeat in two more games to equal Brazil's record unbeaten streak of 35, so it is hardly surprising that midfielder Cesc Fabregas is confident.
"The secret for us is the winning mentality of everyone in the team," he said. "That's why we have gone 33 games without losing."
As for the Iraqis, they have rightly been encouraged by the performance against South Africa in which coach Bora Milultonovic won the tactical battle.
"We were happy to take a point in the first game and we believe it is possible to reach the semi-finals," said midfielder Nashat Akram.
sports@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
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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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- 600-seat auditorium
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Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
