LONDON // England manager Roy Hodgson warned of hidden dangers in Euro 2016 qualifying after his side galvanised their position atop Group E with a straightforward 5-0 win over San Marino.
England top the group on goal difference from Lithuania after Thursday’s stroll at a quiet Wembley Stadium, with chief rivals Switzerland six points off the pace following an unexpected 1-0 loss away to Slovenia.
Spain were stunned by Slovakia on Thursday, while Portugal have already lost at home to Albania, and after a World Cup dotted by shock results, Hodgson says the big teams cannot take victories for granted anymore.
Read more: Del Bosque on Spain’s shocking defeat to Slovakia: ‘I definitely didn’t expect this result’
“I suppose they’re surprising [results], but maybe not,” said Hodgson, whose side play away to Estonia on Sunday.
“I think we should stop being surprised in international football. If you happen to be called Spain, Russia or England, we can’t expect we can go and beat whoever because we have more people in our country than them.
“San Marino were better this year, better than they were last year. Albeit as an amateur team, it’ll be a long time before they can beat the likes of us at Wembley, I hope.”
Phil Jagielka headed England into a 25th-minute lead at Wembley, but San Marino held out until Wayne Rooney doubled the hosts’ advantage with a penalty two minutes prior to the break.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain teed up Danny Welbeck for England’s third goal early in the second half, with a low strike by substitute Andros Townsend and an Alessandro Della Valle own goal completing the scoring.
England have now scored 31 goals in their five games against San Marino, conceding only once.
Hodgson dismissed suggestions that he had withdrawn Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson at half-time to mollify Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, with whom he became embroiled in a pre-game row about the fitness of striker Daniel Sturridge.
“To be fair to Brendan, when I spoke to him about Daniel and we knew he wouldn’t be ready, we spoke about Daniel and Glen (Johnson),” Hodgson told his post-match press conference.
“He told me neither would be ready. We didn’t talk at all about the other two. It was our decision.
“With the wealth of talent we have in attacking areas, it was nice today (Thursday) to take people like Sterling, Henderson and Welbeck off who might play an important role for us on Sunday.”
England once again deployed a diamond midfield system and Hodgson reiterated his belief that it suits the players at his disposal.
“I’ve been pleased with it in the last two games,” he said.
“We have those right-side and left-side wing-halves -- Henderson and (Jack) Wilshere today, and (James) Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain in the second half. We have people who can do that job.
“(Adam) Lallana and Sterling can, too. Lallana, when he came on for Raheem, was every bit as dangerous and inventive and creative as Raheem could be.
“That’s nice to know. And James Milner can also go in and play that deeper central role that Jack did in Switzerland.”
Ranked 208th and joint-last in the FIFA ranking, San Marino have never won a competitive match, but having seen his side frustrate England in the first half, coach Pierangelo Manzaroli believes better days may lie ahead.
“We hope to get a result from the rest of the qualifying campaign,” said Manzaroli, whose team host Switzerland on Tuesday.
“Obviously getting a result against teams like England is very hard, but there are other teams like Estonia, Slovenia or Lithuania where we can hopefully get a historic draw or even a more historic win for our nation.”
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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
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
Quick%20facts
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GRAN%20TURISMO
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Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Sweet%20Tooth
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
