At the end of his 126th and last international for Belgium, Eden Hazard looked around the Ahmad bin Alli stadium in Al Rayyan and saw too many farewell signs. His team, bronze medallists at the World Cup four years earlier, had just been knocked out in the group phase of Qatar 2022. Hazard had been given just three minutes off the bench to try and launch a late rescue of the campaign.
Romelu Lukaku had come on at half time with a similar mission, Belgium’s all-time record scorer asked for the one goal that would, with the score 0-0 against Croatia, have pushed the so-called Red Devils into the knockouts. On came Youri Tielemans to add guile. On came Thorgan Hazard, who in recent years has become a better guarantee of zipping past a marker than his fading, more gifted elder brother.
None could break the deadlock that day, and at the final whistle players and staff prepared for repeated goodbyes. It was the last sighting together of those twin defensive pillars, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, a pairing first brought together more than a dozen years earlier and veterans of 366 senior matches together for their clubs or for Belgium, where they were so often blessed with the towering Thibaut Courtois as their backstop and by Axel Witsel as the formidable midfield sentry just in front of them.
Great hopes had been invested in these totems of Belgium’s so-called “golden generation”. But within the camp in Qatar, there had been doubts and disagreements. Kevin de Bruyne, the captain, had voiced concerns this was a side that might already be past its peak. “Too old,” De Bruyne had told an interviewer asking whether his cohort could win the 2022 World Cup.
The announcement on Monday that Eden Hazard has retired from all football at the relatively young age of 32 draws a significant curtain on what is widely held to be the finest concentration of talent within an age-group in Belgium’s football history. The sad retreat from activity of Hazard, after four injury-disrupted and minimum-impact years at Real Madrid, from a sport he once made so watchable, echoes a wider sense of loss.
Belgium’s golden generation have not all stepped aside in a single, choreographed moment, but it is not just Hazard, their leading star for much of the last decade, who is off stage.
Aldeweireld, 34, has retired from internationals. So has his contemporary Witsel, some of whose authority in midfield would naturally pass to Tielemans, 26. But Tielemans, who suffered relegation from the Premier League last May with Leicester City, is yet to start a game for his new club, Aston Villa, amid reports he has fallen out with head coach Unai Emery.
Another flag-bearer for the next generation, attacking midfielder Charles de Ketelaere, is also coming off a difficult year. He joined AC Milan amid great expectations in 2022. After a season of just nine starts in Serie A, he has been loaned to Atalanta.
The squad named by Belgium’s head coach Domenico Tedesco for the European Championship qualifiers in Austria Friday and Sweden next week is also missing important generals; 32-year-old De Bruyne being is recovery from a hamstring issue aggravated early in Manchester City’s opening match of the Premier League season, and Courtois, 31, having been ruled out until well into the new year with a cruciate ligament injury.
Courtois’s absence denies him the chance to mend fences as well as set his usual high standards of goalkeeping. He left Belgian practice in June citing an injury ahead of a 1-1 draw with Austria amid reports he had been unhappy not to be given the national captaincy.
In an interview published in Le Soir newspaper, the full-back Timothy Castagne reported anger within the squad at Courtois. “Thibaut is the best Belgian keeper,” he said. “But we do have to ask if we want to sacrifice the unity of the group for the sake of one player?"
Castagne later added that he regretted speaking publicly about the issue.
It is not the first sign of internal division. There were raised voices in the dressing room during the World Cup. And the sense that a unique, once-in-a-century opportunity has been passed up shadows the senior players still involved with the Red Devils.
Belgium, who have never won a major tournament, is a relatively small country, with a population barely a sixth of France’s and almost eight times smaller than Germany’s. It may wait a very long time before such a rich flow of talent as there was in the Hazard-De Bruyne-Courtois era comes around again.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
