France coach Didier Deschamps said Kylian Mbappé is “getting better every day” and “wants to play” as they look to clinch top spot in Group D against bottom side Poland at Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
Mbappe, who sustained a broken nose in their tournament opening 1-0 win over Austria, was absent as Les Bleus laboured to a 0-0 draw against the Netherlands in Leipzig at the weekend. That flat performance quite naturally led to fears about their attacking potency when shorn of their chief goal threat.
Deschamps will have been encouraged to see Mbappe – fitted with a protective mask – take part in a 60-minute practice match on Sunday, scoring twice and setting up two more in a game against under-21 players from Paderborn, France’s home for the tournament.
The Real Madrid-bound striker will wear the mask if he does play against Poland at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
“The bruise has gone down, he is getting used to playing in a mask,” Deschamps said on Monday. “He wants to play – he wanted to play against the Netherlands and he wants to play against Poland.”
N’Golo Kante sounded more convinced Mbappé would be returning. “He was great, decisive and dangerous,” midfielder Kante said of Mbappé’s performance in practice.
“I think he feels well and I hope this translates on the pitch tomorrow.”
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who will be a teammate of Mbappe at Real Madrid next season, said the forward was ready to play against the Polish in Dortmund.
“Everybody knows that he wants to play the next game, it’s not a surprise for anyone,” said Tchouameni.
“He is getting used to the mask, he and we obviously would prefer he could play without it but we don’t have a choice. We know that he’ll be ready. Nothing’s changed. We know he will bring a lot to the match if he plays.”
France need a point to guarantee a place in the round of 16 but have probably already done enough to advance. Les Bleus are tied on four points with the Netherlands, with Austria a point back in third ahead of their match against the Dutch in Berlin.
Poland lost their opening two games – to the Netherlands (2-1) and Austria (3-1) – and were the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. Captain Robert Lewandowski, who turns 36 in August, could play his last ever European Championship match.
Poland coach Michal Probierz also announced that goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny will be dropped, with Lukasz Skorupski or Marcin Bulka coming in. Szczęsny has already said he is retiring from the national team after the Euros.
“We will play against France with our best possible line-up. This game will be good for us as part of our preparations for the Nations League in the autumn," said the Poland coach.
Netherlands aim to beat Austria and snatch top spot
The Netherlands will hope to sneak ahead of the French and pinch top spot in the group but face a dangerous Austria side who may need a positive result to reach the last 16.
Dutch coach Ronald Koeman was critical of his players, saying they "weren't up to scratch" in the 0-0 draw with France.
"We lost possession when we shouldn't have and our pressing wasn't great either, there was too much space in between the lines. France had better chances than we did," Koeman said.
"If we think about the whole game there were times we weren't up to scratch."
The Netherlands have topped their groups at each of the past two major tournaments, although they were still eliminated by the Czech Republic in the last 16 at Euro 2020.
Despite a promising start to this campaign, there has been plenty of debate over Koeman's selections and the calls for Wout Weghorst to replace Memphis Depay up front are growing louder.
"When a ball came to me, there was little support. Then you have to hold the ball and unfortunately that didn't work a number of times. That has to be improved," Depay admitted after the France stalemate.
Matthijs de Ligt, who starred in the second half of last season for Bayern Munich, has been overlooked with Inter Milan's Stefan de Vrij partnering Virgil van Dijk in central defence. Former Ajax star De Ligt has been speaking to a psychologist to help him process not being in the starting XI.
"These kinds of moments can be tough," he told Dutch media. "By talking about them you make it lighter and you can put the energy back on the field instead of wasting it on those kinds of thoughts."
Austria, meanwhile, will likely go through with a point as one of the best third-placed teams but could also finish first with a win, if France fail to beat Poland.
Tipped by some as one of the dark horses for the tournament, Ralf Rangnick's team impressed in a 3-1 victory over Poland last time out.
"Somehow it is nice to be called that [dark horses]," said Christoph Baumgartner, who scored against the Poles.
"We won against Germany in the build-up, we had a really good period in the last few weeks and months, and then people start to think big quite quickly.
"But we as a team always knew how to assess the situation. We knew against France we weren't at our maximum. We know if we reach our best level we can beat a lot of nations."
Match info
Manchester United 1
Fred (18')
Wolves 1
Moutinho (53')
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Key facilities
- 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
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stamp%20duty%20timeline
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Related
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Mobile phone packages comparison
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
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'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
