There are few nations as fond of compound words as Germany, but it remains to be seen if their latest creation will catch on.
In the hours after the Euro 2024 hosts had demolished Scotland 5-1 in the tournament's opening game, the term “Wusiala” was coined on social media to describe the stunning double threat of wingers Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, both 21, who had run amok at the Allianz Arena.
“I have no problem with it,” grinned Musiala, when the term was put to him ahead of Wednesday night's second Group A game, against Hungary at the Stuttgart Arena.
The Hungarians will no doubt be hatching a plan to try and contain the dynamic young duo, both of whom found the back of the net against the Scots. It was the first time two players aged 21 or under had scored for the same team in a European Championship game.
Musiala and Wirtz are already well known to German fans but nothing can enhance reputations like major tournament football − especially to a mainstream audience – and the wingers look set to be the faces of the national team for a generation to come.
One player from the previous era, Toni Kroos, backed the pair to continue tormenting defences. “They are players that you always have a bit of doubt about as a defender,” said the 34-year-old midfielder, who came out of international retirement for this tournament after a personal plea from manager Julian Nagelsmann.
“Should I go for them or not? If I go for them, there's always the danger they'll skip past me and I'll be standing there but the player is not.”
The Stuttgart-born Musiala grew up in England and spent time in the youth sections of both Fulham and Chelsea before choosing to represent Germany after signing with Bayern.
“It's not just football which connects us. We're the same age and have the same interests,” Musiala said of his relationship with Wirtz. “He can play table tennis pretty well, but I've got more quality in basketball. We combine well together.”
Wirtz, who won an unbeaten domestic double at Bayer Leverkusen this season as Musiala's Bayern finished without a trophy for the first time in 11 years, insists there's no hint of rivalry between the pair.
“It would not be healthy if we were trying to outdo each other,” Wirtz said. “Personally it doesn't matter to me who scores more goals.”
While the performances of the wingers – who flank Kai Havertz in an exciting and fluid frontline – have captured the German public's imagination, the return of Kroos as part of a midfield three alongside the imaginative Ilkay Gundogan and the spiky Robert Andrich, has fortified belief in a deep run at the tournament.
Next up is a Hungary team who came close to dumping the Germans out of the last Euros and also beat them 1-0 in the Nations League at the RB Arena in Leipzig in September 2022.
Consequently, the Hungarians were tipped for a good showing this summer, but then flopped in their opening game as they were outplayed in a 3-1 defeat to Switzerland.
Their Italian coach Marco Rossi says not to write off his side just yet, but accepts it will be difficult against a Germany team he feels are the favourites to go all the way.
“So, as of today it looks impossible but as we showed in the last Euros, we lost to Portugal 3-0 [in the opening game] but then drew with France and were six minutes away from qualifying for the last 16 at the expense of Germany,” Rossi said.
“But Germany are another team now and, not just because they won 5-1 against Scotland, I said in interviews before that in my opinion the Germans are the biggest favourites for the title.”
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You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
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The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
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