Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson is convinced Group D in the World Cup will be decided by fine margins ahead of his side's clash with Nigeria in Volgograd on Friday.
Iceland claimed a hard-fought 1-1 draw against group favourites Argentina in their first match, and with Nigeria losing to Croatia, victory for either side on Friday could prove decisive in progressing to the knockout stages.
Gunnarsson said Iceland will build on their performance against Argentina, stressing the importance of the collective to their hopes of success against Nigeria, while ramping up the pressure on their African opponents.
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"I've always said that when everyone is rowing in the same direction then anything is possible in football," said Gunnarsson, who led Iceland to the quarter-finals of the 2016 European Championships in France.
"This is a must-win game for Nigeria, and that makes it a little bit psychologically different, they have to win," he said.
"This group is going to be decided in the last minutes, in the last game.
"It's going to be down to some margins, a set piece, a goal in injury time. This is how this group is going to be played."
Iceland will be without midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who has not recovered from the calf injury he picked up against Argentina.
Iceland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said the injury means he will make changes to his line-up but boldly predicted his side would beat the Super Eagles.
"We expect to win," coach Heimir Hallgrimsson told reporters at the Volgograd Arena after a brief training session, adding that the Burnley player would be replaced by Olafur Skulason if he doesn't make it.
"It is very unlikely that Joey will play. But he's getting better every day, and is in good hands."
Gudmundsson was forced off after an hour against Argentina but there was better news on Swansea City's Gylfi Sigurdsson, who had faced a race against time to be fit for the tournament. He played the full 90 minutes against Argentina and has recovered completely.
"He's 100 per cent fit. Match fit and ready to play," Hallgrimsson said. "We have been rotating the team in preparation so we are ready to switch it around and it doesn't change our plans how we will approach this game."
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
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.”
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Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
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