Al Jazira manager Marcel Keizer has “mixed feelings” about their Fifa Club World Cup opener against AS Pirae on their home turf at Mohamed bin Zayed stadium on Thursday.
In their first appearance in the tournament in 2017, Jazira reached the last-four stage before going down to the eventual champions Real Madrid 2-1. They finished fourth when they were beaten by Mexican side Pachua 4-1 in the play-off.
Jazira are the first Emirati club to feature in the competition twice as Abu Dhabi hosts the tournament for the fifth time.
“I have mixed feelings [about] this game but [I'm] very happy to be playing in the Club World Cup,” Keizer said at the pre-match conference at Mohamed bin Zayed stadium on Wednesday.
“We are going into a new competition and our plan is to take one game at a time. We have seen a couple of videos of Pirae and know something about them.”
Keizer is facing a selection dilemma with five of his players re-joining the squad on Wednesday following the national team’s World Cup qualifiers against Syria and Iran.
Jazira captain and goalkeeper Ali Kasheif, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri and Ahmed Al Attas were on national team duty for three weeks.
Also returning from injury are Ali Mabkhout, the team’s striker and leading scorer, and midfielder Khalifa Al Hammadi.
“We still have a day to evaluate the players who joined us this morning and decide on the line-up,” Keizer said.
“Those who returned from national duty appeared to be a bit tired, but hopefully they will recover fast. Ali and Khalifa haven’t trained much and we’ll assess them as to how much time they can spend on the pitch.”
The winners of the opening game face Asian Champions League victors Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. Whoever comes out top in that match will meet English Premier League side Chelsea, the Uefa Champions League winners, in the semi-final on February 9.
In 2017, Jazira overcame Auckland City 1-0 and Urawa Reds 1-0 in their first two games. But Keizer says he is not thinking about how far his side will progress in the competition, only about the first game.
“As I said earlier, we’ll take one game at a time,” the Dutchman said. “Obviously, our objective is to go as far as possible but we need to win the first game to achieve that.”
In 2018, Al Ain progressed to the Club World Cup final after a penalty shoot-out victory over Copa Libertadores winners River Plate. They lost to Real Madrid courtesy of the only goal of the match by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Oceania’s Pirae are making their debut in the Club World Cup and aim to make their mark on the big stage.
“We are delighted to be here and we aren’t here to make [up] the numbers but to make an impact against professional sides,” the Tahitian club’s manager Naea Bennett said.
“We are far away from the elite teams in this competition but we want to make an impact, now that we have got this opportunity. We have watched a few games of Jazira and they are a very professional side. We will do our best.”
Seven clubs are in the competition and, for the first time, there are three Arab teams: Jazira, Hilal and the African champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
Brazilian club Palmeiras and Monterrey of Mexico represent South and North America, respectively, with Chelsea completing the list.
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Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
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Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan
Four stars
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How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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- 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
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