They have been a loyal group, the Portuguese partisans of Marcoussis, south of Paris. They waited in their hundreds until past 3am on Thursday morning to greet the first men to book a place in the final of Euro 2016. They made quite a noise of it, and a spectacle draped in flags, faces painted in red, green and yellow.
The fans would be repaid later in the day for their display of affection with access to watch the squad’s light training session, at the French National rugby centre, the temporary base of the Selecao, as the national team are known: They got a wave from Cristiano Ronaldo, some eye-catching tricks with the ball from Ricardo Quaresma.
Well over a million people of Portuguese ancestry are resident in France, a high proportion the sons and daughters of immigrants who came seeking work from the 1950s onwards.
Read more:
The lowdown – Everything you need to know about Sunday's final
They will be seen and heard loudly in Saint-Denis tomorrow, their dream that their nation, the one of their hearts and origins, can reverse the odds and overcome the hosts. The precedents are discouraging, but where there is Ronaldo, there will always be hope.
Some of those who will support Portugal at the Stade des France will have been there, at Marseille’s old Velodrome, for what both French and Portuguese recall as one of the great ties of European championship history.
It was the semi-final of 1984, France again in the role of hosts and favourites, Portugal as dark horses, outsiders. But they equalised in the 74th minute, and then, to the alarm of France, went ahead eight minutes into extra time.
Portugal have been closer to winning major trophy since then, but not by much. What happened in Marseille 32 years ago is vividly recalled by French and Portuguese fans of a certain age.
France equalised with six minutes left of the extended tie-breaker. With one minute remaining on the clock, the France manager Michel Hidalgo had his notebook out to write down the names of his penalty-takers, assuming the roulette of spot-kicks was inevitable.
Then he looked up to see his midfielder Jean Tigana snaking forward, past challenges, ball at his feet. Tigana crossed, and player of the tournament Michel Platini scored a last-gasp winner, for 3-2.
France went on to win that tournament, the first of three major trophies they have lifted in their history.
The most recent of those, in 2000, contains an episode over which some Portuguese still seethe.
It was another semi-final, another tight joust that went not one minute from being settled by spot-kicks but three, and which was decided by a single penalty instead.
“It was the first time an assistant referee had signalled a penalty,” remembers Humberto Coelho, then the Portugal coach, and now part of the delegation at the Marcoussis training base.
To put it mildly, the Portugal players were vexed by linesman Igor Srmaka’s decision. He deemed the contact between Abel Xavier’s hand and a Sylvain Wiltord cross worth a penalty. Zinedine Zidane scored it.
A crushed Portugal had held the lead for much of the match, until Thierry Henry equalised Nuno Gomes’s first-half goal. France, 2-1 winners, went on to reach the final and win that in extra time.
Xavier’s furious reaction to the decision left him with a nine-month ban, and Nuno Gomes and his colleague Paulo Bento served eight and six-month suspension for losing their tempers.
So there are scores to settle tomorrow.
Portugal, semi-finalists against France on the two occasions France have won the European championship, have yet to lift the prize.
Twelve years ago, they lost a final, 1-0 to Greece. It was they who were hosts then.
They will hope their supporters, some of them Parisiens, can make them feel like they are home in Saint-Denis. They certainly feel that, when it comes to beating France, they are owed some dues.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
England v South Africa schedule
- First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.”
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
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
