From where Roberto Mancini sits at the top, very probably, of the list of the world’s best-paid head coaches, the trapdoor through which he can abruptly fall seems perilously close. A high salary means high expectations, and the position his Saudi Arabia team find themselves in, one slip-up from dropping out of the places that would keep the Green Falcons on the path to the 2026 World Cup, feels deeply uncomfortable.
Lose to Bahrain in Jeddah on Tuesday and, depending on results elsewhere in Group C of Asian qualifying for football’s great showpiece, Mancini’s men could find themselves fifth out of six in the pool, picking through the debris of a run of four home matches without a win.
If Mancini’s recent statements are a guide, another setback will have him focusing again on the great contradiction within Saudi football in the period since he last year joined the caravan of celebrated international stars arriving in the kingdom.
As Mancini sees it, the Saudi Pro League, so monied and magnetic to high-class professionals, is in danger of acting against the interest of the Green Falcons: the more foreign footballers come to its leading clubs, the fewer opportunities there are for Saudi players to accumulate valuable minutes on the pitch. They then come to the national camp lacking match sharpness.
So Mancini complained – again – after Thursday’s 2-0 home defeat to Japan left the Saudis beneath the Japanese, who are top of the group with a 100 per cent record, and below second-placed Australia on goal difference. Bahrain have the same four points as the Green Falcons, while Indonesia, unbeaten in their first three qualifiers, have made the group tight and competitive.
Competitive for everybody but Japan, that is. They last week scored their 13th and 14th goals in three Group C matches so far in a way that infuriated Mancini, from crosses into the Saudi penalty area that were inadequately policed. The second, from a corner, sealed the outcome. The first, Daichi Kamada’s goal after 14 minutes, had the ball passing back and forth across the Saudi defence three times.
If the coach detected at that point that his markers were less than alert, he imagined he knew why. The central defenders who started against Japan, Hassan Tambakti and Ali Lajami have been notably short of playing time in the Pro League.
Lajami has started just two of Al Nassr’s six league fixtures this season and had not seen any action since playing for his club in the AFC Champions League in mid-September. Tambakti has played a mere 92 minutes in Al Hilal’s defence of their Saudi title. He’s usually on the champions’ bench.
Nor was Saud Abdulhamid, who joined Roma from Al Hilal in the summer, greatly flattered by the lead-up to Kamada’s goal, the full-back caught in two minds as the first cross floated into the danger zone.
Saud is a pathfinder for compatriots, the first Saudi to sign for a club in Italy’s Serie A. But he’s yet to come off the bench in the Italian league, and linked up with Mancini’s squad last week on the back of just 84 minutes of Europa League action under his belt as a Roma player.
That encapsulates Mancini’s frustrations. “The only problem we have, is that three years ago all the Saudi players played every [club] game," said the Italian. “And today, 50 or 60 per cent don't.”
He looks over a squad with plenty of talent, but sees clear signs of early-season rustiness. Besides his underused central defenders, their club opportunities limited by the first XI status of illustrious foreign players like Al Hilal’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Al Nassr’s Aymeric Laporte, midfielders Abdulelah Al Malki, limited to a mere 41 minutes in the league, all off the bench for Al Ettifaq, and Nasser Al Dawsari – one start for Al Hilal – came into the Japan fixture short of competitive rhythm.
Up front, Ayman Yahya has so far been on the pitch for Al Nassr for just 14 minutes in the league this term. He can only look around at the club colleagues in pole position for starting XI places – Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Otavio and Talisca – and wonder when he will reach even 90 minutes.
One solution to the perceived bottleneck on Saudi talent at the upper level of the Pro League is for players to move abroad, as 23-year-old Faisal Al Ghamdi and the winger Marwan Al Sahafi, 20, have, going on loan to Belgium’s Beerschot from Al Ittihad.
The experience will doubtless be educative, but these early weeks of their adventure have been dispiritingly tough. Beerschot, where both young Saudis are being used in the first team, sit bottom of the Belgium Pro League, winless in 10 matches.
Mancini is not quite at crisis point yet, but the possible path to the World Cup finals in North and Central America is in danger of passing from fast-track to a slow, arduous lane. There are difficult away trips – to Japan, Australia and Indonesia – yet to come.
Only the top two finishers in Group C go direct to the 2026 finals, while third and fourth will be obliged to drop through the penultimate trapdoor and another round of qualifying that has two guaranteed places for Asian countries.
After that, there’s play-offs, and a possible duel with a country from another continent for a single spot. This is not the route Mancini envisaged when he left his role as head coach in his native Italy 14 months ago, lining up his lucrative position with a country of an elevated enough status in Asian football to assume that one of the eight – possibly nine – available Asian places at the World Cup would be theirs.
But then, for all his accomplishments, as a player and manager in club and international football, World Cup campaigns have had a history of unkindness towards Mancini.
Play-offs have especially bad memories. Italy were obliged to take that route for Qatar 2022 qualifying and it turned into a cul-de-sac. The then European champions were beaten at home by North Macedonia. A second successive World Cup qualifying had been fluffed by the Italians.
Mancini had wretched experiences of World Cups as a player, too. He won 36 caps for his country across a decade as creative support striker, but none of them were at World Cup final tournaments. He spent the entirety of the 1990 event, staged in Italy, sitting on the Azzurri bench: seven matches as an unused substitute.
When, having played an active part in qualifying for the 1994 US-hosted World Cup, he sought assurances from the Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi that he would go to those finals with a good prospect of starting in games, he felt so disappointed by the answer he effectively called time on his career with Italy, who went on to reach that final.
There’s a full album of regrets in all those World Cup disappointments. Mancini would prefer not to dwell on them – “We don’t live in the past,” he said after the Japan defeat – and certainly not to add another chapter to his story of World Cup absences.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
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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
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
