UAE's Ali Mabkhout trains in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Asia Cup in Qatar. The Al Jazira striker has yet to feature at the tournament. Chris Whiteoak / The National
UAE's Ali Mabkhout trains in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Asia Cup in Qatar. The Al Jazira striker has yet to feature at the tournament. Chris Whiteoak / The National
UAE's Ali Mabkhout trains in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Asia Cup in Qatar. The Al Jazira striker has yet to feature at the tournament. Chris Whiteoak / The National
However, Mabkhout was not named in the squad for Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat against group winners Iran, even with Adil ruled out for up to 10 days with a knee injury.
Despite the loss, the UAE sealed a runner-up spot and therefore their place in the last 16, where they face Tajikistan on Sunday.
On Mabkhout’s absence, assistant coach Sergio Costa said: “The reason is technical, tactical. We prepare our match with the players that for us give more guarantees and the starting XI that we started were the starting 11 players we brought for the match. And we think that it was correct.”
Team manager Yasser Salim added: “Ali Mabkhout is one of the most disciplined players in the squad. He is motivating all his teammates all the time, such as Sultan Adil and all the young players.
“There are absolutely no problems with Ali Mabkhout, and the decision to keep him on the bench or outside is purely technical by the coach. And we respect the coach. It’s his call.”
Bento, meanwhile, will be back on the touchline for the last-16 match against Tajikistan at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. The Portuguese, appointed UAE manager last July, had to watch the Iran clash from the stands following his red card late on against Palestine.
Iran's Mehdi Taremi, left, and teammates celebrate after he scored their second goal in their 1-2 Asian Cup Group C game against the UAE at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, near Doha, on January 23, 2024. AFP
The UAE's Yahya Al Ghassani celebrates after scoring their first goal with teammate Caio Canedo. Reuters
Yahya Al Ghassani of the UAE celebrates scoring his team's goal. Getty Images
Iran's Mehdi Taremi, right, is congratulated by teammate Shojae Khalilzadeh after scoring their first goal. AFP
Iran's Mehdi Taremi scores their second goal. Reuters
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates scoring his team's second goal. Getty Images
Khaled Ibrahim of the UAE wins a header. Getty Images
Harib Abdalla of the UAE is tackled by Sadegh Moharrami of Iran. Getty Images
Iran's Mehdi Taremi celebrates scoring the opener with teammates. Reuters
The UAE's Yahya Al Ghassani is harried by Iran's Sadegh Moharrami. Reuters
Iran's Ali Gholizadeh celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal that was later disallowed. Reuters
Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh grapples with the UAE's Tahnoon Al Zaabi. Reuters
Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh in action with the UAE's Tahnoon Al Zaabi. Reuters
Iran's Sadegh Moharrami is closed down by the UAE's Tahnoon Al Zaabi. Reuters
The UAE will be favourites to progress to a third successive Asian Cup quarter-final, with tournament debutants Tajikistan the surprise package in Group A. On Monday, they defeated Lebanon 2-1 to finish second to hosts Qatar.
Costa, though, baulked at suggestions the UAE have an easier route to the competition's latter stages than if they had been on the other side of the draw.
“This competition already proved there are not easier groups, easier teams,” he said. “All the teams are competing really well for each match. We can see all the groups that some surprises are happening.
“This means that all the teams are improving – and this is good for Asian football.”
Asked if the UAE were already aware of Tajikistan’s qualities, Costa added: “Yes – we are preparing since the beginning of the competition and putting into practice our scouting programme. We already knew a lot of teams, the possible opponents that we are going to face. And Tajikistan are one of them.
“So we will prepare that match as best as we can, like all the other matches, checking the opponents strengths, their weaknesses, and after that, prepare a game plan.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic Started: October 2023 Founder: Namrata Raina Based: Dubai Sector: E-commerce Current number of staff: 10 Investment stage: Pre-seed Initial investment: Undisclosed
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
United States
2.
China
3.
UAE
4.
Japan
5
Norway
6.
Canada
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Singapore
8.
Australia
9.
Saudi Arabia
10.
South Korea
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Getting there Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
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The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
