Three months before the European Championship began, with France installed as pre-tournament favourites, a row broke out between two of the French Football Federation’s key strategists. The sporting director, Hubert Fournier, went public with his concern that Les Bleus, the senior national team, had an insufficiently rigorous planning process for penalty shoot-outs.
The long-serving head coach, Didier Deschamps, reacted angrily, cross that Fournier was intruding on his job, on territory Deschamps has guarded jealously for 12 years, a period that includes one triumphant World Cup, and silver medals in both the Euros and the last World Cup when France lost on penalties.
Deschamps argued there is only so much you can do to rehearse penalties, because the pressures on a player in a shoot-out, in a full stadium are never replicable on a practice ground.
But there are also certain things a coach might usually be reluctant to do if a tight knockout match in a major competition is edging towards a shoot-out to decide who goes through. Like take off his best penalty takers.
France versus Portugal in Hamburg at the weekend, a taut heavyweight clash for a place in the Euro 2024 semi-final was heading for a penalty tie-breaker when, halfway through extra time, scores locked at 0-0, Deschamps substituted Kylian Mbappe, his captain, chief match-winner and No 1 spot-kicker.
Mbappe, who has been playing since the opening game with a broken nose, was tired. But his withdrawal looked doubly ominous. Antoine Griezmann, France’s next-most expert spot-kicker, had also been substituted, in the second half.
So, come the final whistle, the game still goalless, when the list of France’s first five penalty takers was drawn up, Les Bleus' status as most likely winners of Euro 2024 suddenly looked under real challenge. They were facing the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo – 163 successful penalties in his career, excluding shoot-outs – in what stacked up as an extraordinary imbalance of knowhow in striking a dead ball from 12 yards.
France had not won a major tournament shoot-out since 1998. Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa had, in the previous round against Slovenia, made a Euros record three successive saves in the penalty tie-breaker. Bradley Barcola, 21, who won his fourth France cap as Mbappe’s replacement, had never taken a penalty in his senior career. He was earmarked to take France’s fourth against Costa.
Barcola took it impeccably, with a languid ease, apparently immune to the mounting pressure. And the pressure had ratcheted up. Joao Felix had put Portugal’s third spot kick against the French post. Barcola was suddenly burdened with being the young man to either squander advantage or make it really count.
France finished up scoring all their penalties, brilliantly in the cases of Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez, defenders unused to this particular task. Poor Joao Felix ended up the only spot-kick failure as Portugal bowed out. Ronaldo, stern-faced, having converted their first penalty, was not among the compatriots instantly reaching out to Felix to commiserate.
The agonies for Felix, once the most expensive teenager to be transferred between clubs, will linger in his mind. He’s 24, his club career, lately a succession of loans from Atletico Madrid, is in limbo and he can only yearn for those days when he carried about him the confidence of a Barcola. Or of an Arda Guler, the 19-year-old who galvanised Turkey’s run to within 20 minutes of the semis, and set up the goal that gave the Turks a 1-0 lead ahead of a spirited Netherlands fightback on Saturday night.
Or of a Lamine Yamal, who turns 17 three days after the Spain for whom he is the leading assister this tournament meet France in the first of two semi-finals.
The Netherlands will meet England in Dortmund on Wednesday, a contest that puts on display far more obvious flaws in both sides than are apparent in the Spain-France duel that comes to Munich 24 hours earlier. England have laboured through two draws in the group phase, gone behind in both their knockout ties and needed extra time, against Slovakia, and penalties, against Switzerland, to reach the last four.
But England found clear-eyed, ice-cold young men to guide them through the pressure points: Jude Bellingham, 21, with a marvellous overhead volley to save the day against Slovakia and to convert the penalty that established England’s advantage against the Swiss; Cole Palmer, 21, who this time a year ago had just two Premier League starts to his name but, in Dusseldorf on Saturday, could be utterly relied on to convert England’s first penalty.
And, above all, Bukayo Saka, who at 22 is at his third major international tournament but came into his second shoot-out in a Euros confronted with haunting memories of his first. Saka was one of three Englishmen who had failed from the spot in the tie-breakers at the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
Abuse, some of it racist, would be directed at the then teenaged Arsenal player. England manager Gareth Southgate endured criticism for having asked very young players to take – and fail at – three of the penalties against Italy.
Saka, whose superb equaliser had already kept England in their quarter-final against Switzerland, was named man of the match. “I wasn’t focusing on the past,” he said. “But of course I know a lot of nervous people were watching, my family included. I kept my cool. You can fail once and you have a choice whether to put yourself in that position again or not. I’m a guy who’s going to put myself in that position.”
“So many stories,” reflected a relieved Southgate. “Cole taking the first [penalty] at his age. Bukayo. And Jude – we almost dismiss him because we already expect [so much] of him.”
And, far more than Deschamps would be inclined to with France, England have set about addressing the issues of penalty pressure methodically in recent years, meeting with academics and engaging with psychologists. After all, there is a long history of high-profile defeats on penalties in England’s poor overall record – no Euro triumphs, just one World Cup, way back in 1966 – at major tournaments.
But scratch hard enough and you can find points of frailty, ancient neuroses, in any national team. The Netherlands, who finished third in their group at these Euros, are sometimes accused of a lack of resolve, as their head coach Ronald Koeman has acknowledged.
Coming back from a goal down, dealing with what he called an “emotional match” against a noisily supported Turkey had shown “we have a big heart, sometimes we get criticised that we don’t have that compared with other nations”.
He was grateful, too, to the big hands of big-hearted Bart Verbruggen, the youngest of the first-choice goalkeepers among all the 24 teams who started these Euros, and responsible for a stunning late save to keep the quarter-final against Turkey from going into extra time.
Verbruggen is 21, and relishing his exposure on a stage that celebrates the young and is still waiting for a standout night from established stars like England’s Harry Kane, or France’s Mbappe and Griezmann, or the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk. None of them want to miss the train to next weekend’s Berlin final.
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
The specs
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Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The Perfect Couple
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
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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
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
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Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
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- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
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Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
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