Japan have set out their game plan to thwart Group H rivals Senegal when they meet in Yekaterinburg on Sunday - hound Sadio Mane out of the match by putting three men on him if necessary.
The Asian giants face the West Africans in a top-of-the-table clash following last Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Colombia.
Victory over Senegal would virtually seal a place in the last 16 and Japan manager Akiro Nishino, who was drafted in weeks before the start of the tournament following Vahid Halilhodzic's sacking, said his unfancied side will go for the jugular.
But he is wary of the African side's pace and power, devastatingly demonstrated in their own 2-1 victory over top seeds Poland in their opening group match.
In Liverpool forward Mane, the Africans have a player who can win a match on his own.
Japan will have some information on Mane from defender Maya Yoshida, a former teammate of Mane's at Southampton before the forward moved to Anfield in 2016.
Nishino said that all of Japan's players had been briefed about how to stop the 26-year-old dangerman.
"It is not just Yoshida, but all the players we are giving them information about Mane, though I am sure he will be in some duels with Mane," Nishino said on Saturday.
"I am sure we can deal with him but with the contribution that Mane can make, it might be possible to mark him one on one or even three on one.
"It is possible to stop him but the trouble is that he has influence too on other players, and that is what we are concerned about."
_______________
Read more on World Cup 2018:
World Cup 2018: Day 10 updates - Belgium hammer Tunisia 5-2
Comment: Sadio Mane and the rest of Senegal's modern day stars owe class of 2002 a huge debt
World Cup 2018: Ronaldo's hat-trick, Musa magic and the 10 best moments of the tournament so far
World Cup 2018: Messi overreaction, Salah's early exit and 10 worst moments so far
_______________
The Japanese were widely written off when Nishino was rushed in as manager in April following Halilhodzic's departure, leaving him precious little time to prepare for Russia.
Japan stunned 10-man Colombia to take charge of Group H and Nishino revealed that some of his players had wanted to settle for a draw after 45 minutes with the scores locked at 1-1.
"At half time some of the players were saying 'We have done enough, we can settle for a draw.' But I said that we could win and we will win so we went for victory and that is why I gave them attacking tactics and that is why we are top of the group," Nishino said.
"I always say the second match is the deciding match and we have to win, no matter who we play.
"We need to earn maximum points. Even if it is slightly risky we want to attack and try to win."
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
