JOHANNESBURG // As Cacau, the Brazilian-born German forward, tapped in to score the concluding goal in the 4-0 drubbing of Australia 10 days ago, few football followers would have thought that Joachim Loew's men could today be on the verge of facing their earliest ever exit from a World Cup.
Loew, the Germany coach, will take his side to Johannesburg's Soccer City to face Ghana in their final match of Group D.
He would surely have hoped that his most important game as the national team manager this summer would take place at the iconic 94,000-seat stadium, but even he must never have imagined it would arrive so soon.
As it stands, Ghana sit top of the group with four points, while Germany and Serbia have one point less.
Australia, despite losing Harry Kewell to an early bath after 25 minutes, hung on for a draw against the Africans, and so have one point and a glimmer of hope.
Such is the tightness of the group that if the Germans win, they can finish top, yet if they lose, they will be out of the tournament.
Milovan Rajevac, the Serbia-born Ghana coach, said he would be "more than happy" with a scoreless stalemate against Germany and early indicators would suggest it is a real possibility.
The Ghanaians have yet to score in open play, while Miroslav Klose, Loew's first-choice forward, is suspended and will be replaced by an as yet unnamed striker - most likely to be Cacau.
But if there is one thing the past two weeks of football has taught fans - aside from taking ear-plugs to any match involving the vuvuzela-tooting South Africans - it is that nothing at this World Cup can be predicted.
Serbia have already sprung a surprise by beating the much-fancied Germans and both the Ghanaian and German camps are confident they can score the goals to secure qualification.
"Despite the defeat there were many positive things from the Serbia match and we have drawn our lessons from that," Loew said.
"The general tempo against Ghana will be higher than Serbia; the Serbs were a bit slow out of the blocks and they had a draw in mind with only one forward. It will be quicker, but fitness is written with a capital F in the Germany squad and we can cope with it."
Ghana have shown their fitness and physicality in their two previous matches, but it was their wastefulness in attack against the Australians that is most concerning for supporters who want to see an African side in the last 16.
"We squandered a lot of scoring chances, but we must avoid this in the next game," said Asamoah Gyan, the Ghanaian forward who, despite scoring twice from the penalty spot, has struggled as a lone striker.
"We'll correct those mistakes against Germany."
An added element to the crunch game is that of the Boateng brothers. Jerome Boateng, the defender who signed for Manchester City this summer, plays for Germany although he has yet to start in South Africa, while his half brother Kevin-Prince, born in Berlin to the same Ghanaian father, is an attacking midfielder for the Black Stars.
Kevin-Prince is reviled in his homeland after injuring Michael Ballack, the German captain, while playing for Portsmouth against Chelsea in the English FA Cup final. Local press nicknamed him "Der Uebeltreter", which can be roughly translated as "the evil stomper", and the elder of the two brothers is ready to fuel the hatred further.
"I don't care if Germany gets booted out of the tournament," said Kevin-Prince.
"We want to win and move on. If we score a goal, we'll do a nice little dance for our German colleagues."
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Ghana (4 points, +1 goal difference)
If Ghana draw with Germany, they will be through. Even a defeat would be enough to see them qualify if Australia beat Serbia - but not by a big score.
Germany (3 points, +3 goals)
Germany would advance with a victory over Ghana. A draw should be enough if Serbia do not defeat Australia.
Serbia (3 points, 0 goals)
Serbia need a victory to guarantee their place in the last 16, although a draw will suffice if Germany lose.
Australia (1 point, -4 goals)
If Australia win and Germany lose, they advance. If Germany do not lose, they will almost certainly need a big win over Serbia.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Company%20Profile
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Specs
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
