The group stage of the European Championship has now been completed, with 24 teams whittled down to 16 ahead of the start of the knockout rounds on Saturday.
It has been a mixed opening couple of weeks in France, with the tournament’s new format having a positive impact in some ways and a negative one in others.
Euro 2016’s goals-per-game ratio is currently lower than previous editions of the competition, for example, but the first set of matches were generally much more competitive than many predicted.
Read also: Greg Lea's Euro 2016 Team of the Group Stage
While nations like Wales, Hungary and Iceland made the most of a rare opportunity to compete on the continental stage, moreover, the expansion to 24 teams also produced a messy qualification system that allowed the majority of third-placed teams to advance.
Below is a brief summary of all six groups at Euro 2016, as well as some awards based on the tournament’s first 36 encounters:
Group A
France progressed as group winners with seven points from a possible nine, although it is hard to shake the feeling that Didier Deschamps still does not know his best team.
Switzerland joined the hosts in the knockout stage as runners-up, but a return of three points was not enough for Albania to progress in third place. Romania simply did not have enough quality and exited following a draw and two defeats.
Group B
Wales pipped England to first place despite losing to Roy Hodgson’s side, who played well against both Russia and Slovakia but were held to two draws after failing to put their chances away.
Slovakia made it through in third, but Russia were mostly dismal and finished bottom of the group.
Group C
Germany edged out Poland to seal top spot on goal difference, with the world champions held to a goalless draw when the duo went head-to-head.
Northern Ireland also made it through to the next stage thanks to their triumph over Ukraine, who finished bottom on zero points.
Group D
Croatia qualified for the last 16 as Group D winners after victories over Spain and Turkey and a draw with Czech Republic, with the Spanish progressing alongside them in second.
Turkey beat the Czechs in their final encounter but exited due to their inferior goal difference to Northern Ireland in the third-place rankings.
Group E
Two wins in their first two matches sent Italy through before most other teams in the competition, allowing Antonio Conte to rotate his line-up in their final game.
Belgium joined them in second after wins over the Republic of Ireland and Sweden, the former of whom also made it out of the group in third following a dramatic triumph over Italy.
Group F
Hungary’s shock 2-0 win over Austria in their first fixture set the tone for an unpredictable Group F, with Bernd Storck’s charges qualifying alongside Iceland in the top two.
Portugal scrambled into the round of 16 with three draws from three, but Austria were sent packing with only a single point to their name.
Best team
Croatia recorded seven points in a very tough group and arguably deserved more. Ante Cacic’s charges have played some wonderful football and have the potential to go all the way this summer.
Worst team
Injuries suffered by key players in the build-up to the tournament cannot have helped, but Russia were dreadfully disappointing in Group B, with a return of one point more than their performances deserved.
Lacking any sort of creation, speed or spark in the final third, Russia were both dull to watch and extremely ineffective. Their defending and organisation in the 3-0 loss to Wales was embarrassing, and they have now failed to make it beyond the group stage in eight of their last nine tournament appearances.
Best match
Belgium 0-2 Italy was an absorbing and breathless watch between two teams who headed into the competition with very different expectations.
While Belgium’s Golden Generation were expected to challenge for the trophy in France, this Italy outfit was written off as the worst the country had produced in half a century.
Solid defending and potent counter-attacking brought Antonio Conte’s side a significant win, though, leaving Belgium with far more questions than answers.
Worst match
Italy 1-0 Sweden. If Conte's charges gave a fine demonstration of their qualities against Belgium, this tedious triumph over Sweden showcased their weaknesses.
Both teams lacked any sort of invention as they played out what looked certain to be a goalless draw – Eder’s late winner, indeed, was the only memorable moment of the entire game.
Best team performance
Croatia were excellent against both Turkey and Czech Republic and Poland and Hungary also deserve credit for holding Germany and beating Austria respectively, but Spain's destruction of the Turks was the standout display of the group stage.
The holders were in scintillating form as they strolled to victory at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, blowing their opponents away with their proactive and penetrative possession football.
Best individual performance
Leonardo Bonucci was superb in Italy's defeat of Belgium, the Juventus centre-half stepping out from the back to become his side's deep-lying playmaker but also doing a sterling job of snuffing out the threat of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku inside his own box.
Overachievers
It was a minor miracle that Iceland even qualified for the European Championship in the first place, but getting out of the group while remaining unbeaten takes things to another level.
Underachievers
Much was expected of Austria after a terrific qualifying campaign, but they failed to deliver on their promise and fell at the first hurdle.
Best player
Andres Iniesta was magnificent for Spain in Group D, the Barcelona midfielder at the heart of the holders’ attacking efforts. Iniesta always delivers at international tournaments and Euro 2016 looks to be no different.
Most disappointing player
Mario Gotze had very little impact in Germany’s meetings with Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland.
Best goal
Dimitri Payet's stunning 89th minute winner in France's curtain-raiser against Romania remains the leading strike so far, both in terms of the skill involved and the context of the game. An emotional Payet was reduced to tears when substituted shortly after.
Biggest howler
The fact that four Switzerland players had their shirts ripped against France was not the greatest advertisement for kit manufacturers Puma.
Best statistic
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos completed more passes than the entire Northern Ireland team when the two nations went head-to-head in Group C.
Best quote
West Ham United manager and television pundit Slaven Bilic summed up Spain’s majesty best when he said of Vicente Del Bosque’s players: “you have a feeling that some of them were born between the lines.”
Best moment
Cristiano Ronaldo might disagree, but Iceland’s equaliser against Portugal – their first ever goal at an international tournament that later brought their ever first point – showed exactly what football is all about.
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The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
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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.”
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
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MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
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