The UAE will find out at the beginning of next month whom they shall face in the third and final round of qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Here’s the lowdown on what’s next on the road to Qatar.
How qualification worked
The oft-postponed second round concluded last week, with 12 teams qualifying for the final stage. Seven of the eight group winners progressed – Syria, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the UAE, South Korea – alongside the five best runners-up: China, Iraq, Oman, Vietnam, Lebanon. Qatar, who host next year’s World Cup finals, topped Group E, thus opening another runner-up spot (the original quota was four).
The format
The 12 teams will be drawn into two groups of six, where at the moment they are scheduled to play home and away, in round-robin matches. The top two in each group qualify for the World Cup, while the two third-placed teams advance to a single-match play-off. The winner of that will then move on to the intercontinental play-offs, with a final chance to qualify for the finals at stake.
The draw
The teams will discover their pathway to Qatar when the draw is made on July 1 in Kuala Lumpur. The seeding for the draw is based on a special release of the Fifa rankings for Asian teams, which was confirmed last Friday. The teams will be divided into six pots, with the top two ranked in Pot 1, the next two teams in Pot 2, and so on. The pot number corresponds to the position the team will be placed in the group.
The seedings (1-12)
1. Japan
2. Iran
3. Australia
4. South Korea
5. Saudi
6. UAE
7. Iraq
8. China
9. Oman
10. Syria
11. Vietnam
12. Lebanon
With the UAE placed in Pot 3, it means they will be drawn in a group that includes either Japan or Iran, and either Australia or South Korea.
The programme
AFC World Cup qualification has been repeatedly postponed because of the pandemic. Last November, the AFC announced the final round would begin on September 2, 2021 and finish in March 2022. Although there has been speculation that the schedule could be delayed until early next year, given ongoing impact of the pandemic, at present the calendar reads as follows:
• September 2, 2021
• September 7, 2021
• October 7, 2021
• October 12, 2021
• November 11, 2021
• November 16, 2021
• January 27, 2022
• February 1, 2022
• March 24, 2022
• March 29, 2022
The UAE's finals history
The UAE once qualified for a World Cup, in 1990. They reached the third round of Asian qualification for Russia 2018, only to finish fourth in Group B, behind Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Director: Jonathan Levine
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Four stars
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
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MATCH INFO
Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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The National's picks
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
HIJRA
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Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
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Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
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5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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Race card
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Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
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6027 – Dh 100
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Brief scores:
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
