BLOEMFONTEIN // Despite opening their World Cup campaigns with matching results, Paraguay and Slovakia will enter today's Group F showdown in Bloemfontein with very different feelings. Paraguay are sure to be buoyed by their 1-1 draw with Italy, the champions, in Cape Town, but Slovakia conceded a deflating 93rd-minute equaliser to unfancied New Zealand in a 1-1 draw in Rustenburg. Group F is the tightest at the tournament, with all four teams showing exactly the same records and today's games give each country another chance to emerge as contenders for the knockout stage.
After holding Italy, Paraguay feel confident enough to talk of a first ever appearance in the quarter-finals. "We want to go at least to the quarter-finals because in Paraguayan history it's never been done," Roque Santa Cruz, the striker, said. Santa Cruz, the Manchester City forward, is also positive about his own fitness after struggling with injury in the run-up to the tournament and only playing the final 22 minutes against Italy.
"I hope I'll be fully fit for the Slovakia match," the 28-year-old said. Slovakia are playing their first major tournament since the former Czechoslovakia divided in 1993 and are trying to shake off the bitter disappointment of allowing a 1-0 lead over the New Zealanders to slip in the dying moments at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. "Against New Zealand, it was a game with a lot of fouls," Vladimir Weiss, the coach, said yesterday.
"Tomorrow we will run more. Physically it will be a more difficult game, the pace will be quicker, the movement will be quicker." Weiss's son, Vladimir junior, said the Slovaks had learned a harsh lesson against New Zealand. "Winning would have been the perfect start," the 20-year-old winger said, "but conceding a goal in the last minute has changed everything. That was our big debut in the World Cup ... and we'll do our level best to prevent the same thing from happening again."
Gerardo Martino, the Argentine coach, said his Paraguay team can improve on their impressive opening performance, which gave his men "a lot of confidence". "We attach great importance to what we have done [against Italy]," Martino said. "We need to improve on our possession and how we move the ball."
* AP
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind