UAE-Saudi Arabia football rivalry is rocking in the Gulf region

At stake tonight, three hugely important points on the road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Step back from the clash between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Jeddah and take a wider view and you will see a heated rivalry developing between the Arabian Gulf’s two best teams.

Neither Mahdi Ali, the UAE manager, nor Saudi Arabia’s new coach, Bert van Marwijk, will care much for that description. But, like it or not, it is happening.

This could be the most important encounter between the neighbours in years.

Having been awarded a 3-0 win over Malaysia after crowd trouble prematurely ended the qualifier at Shah Alam last month, the Saudis now lead Group A with nine points, with the UAE on seven.

A defeat for the UAE will leave them five points adrift and, halfway through this group stage, that would leave them increasingly looking to progress to the final group stages next year as one of the four best second-placed teams.

Also, a vastly improved Palestine team is waiting to pounce on any slip-ups by the two favourites.

Reaching a World Cup is never easy, but the UAE’s path has become perilous.

The national team have already dropped two points, on an artificial pitch against Palestine in the West Bank.

The same fixture involving Saudi Arabia, which was set for Tuesday, has been postponed while the countries haggle over whether to move the game to a neutral ground.

The UAE have not beaten Saudi Arabia since a last-minute Ismail Matar goal took the UAE to the final of the 2007 Gulf Cup of Nations in Abu Dhabi.

ALSO READ

Effort, not history, matters for UAE’s Mahdi Ali as they try to breach Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia-Palestine World Cup qualifier postponed to decide on site

Making a case for Majed Hassan and Habib Fardan as UAE’s first-choice midfield

Since then the Emiratis have lost two World Cup qualifiers and two Gulf Cup semi-finals. At last year’s Gulf Cup, in Riyadh, a previously flat Saudi Arabia side roused themselves to beat the UAE 3-2 in a memorable semi-final, before succumbing 3-1 to Qatar in the final.

Crucially that day, the hosts devised a pragmatic blueprint of how to deal with UAE danger man Omar Abdulrahman.

For 20 minutes, the Al Ain playmaker was isolated on the right wing, often having to deal with the unkind attentions of two or three Saudi markers.

Eventually the rough treatment got the better of his legs, and he limped off in the 27th minute. Though the UAE engineered a heroic comeback in the second half to recover from a two-goal deficit, their hopes of retaining the title they had won in Bahrain in 2013 had disappeared down the tunnel with their best player.

Yet it was the UAE that went on to excel at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, finishing third, while Saudi Arabia departed at the group stage.

The UAE are now ranked 70th in the world, fifth in Asia, and the highest Gulf team. With Saudi Arabia at 88, the Emiratis are, statistically at least, better than their counterparts.

But can they prove it where it really matters, on the pitch? It is a strange quirk that the recent period of UAE excellence, and Saudi Arabia’s relative decline since reaching the 2006 World Cup finals, has yet to produce a win, or even a draw, for the Emiratis.

Historically, the numbers are daunting: the UAE have won only six of 33 matches with the Saudis, with six draws and 21 defeats. The UAE’s only away victory in the rivalry was a 2-0 win in a friendly back in 2001. Last season, Al Hilal beat Al Ain, and a frustrated Abdulrahman, in the Asian Champions League semi-finals.

This year, the Western Zone semi-final is finely poised after Al Hilal and Al Ahli drew 1-1 in Riyadh in the first leg.

At international and club level, the rivalry is getting fiercer, and tighter. There have been some memorable meetings.

A magnificent 2-2 draw at the 1988 Gulf Cup in front of a heaving King Fahd International Stadium; Saudi Arabia clinching the 1996 Asian Cup with a penalty shoot-out win over the hosts at Zayed Sports City; Ismail Matar’s glorious winner on the way to clinching the UAE’s first Gulf Cup in 2007; and last year’s dramatic clash in Riyadh.

Mahdi Ali will pay little attention to history, though, or countenance talk of rivalries. But he will need his team to achieve something the UAE has never managed before if they are to go back to the top of Group A: a victory in a competitive match on Saudi Arabian soil.

akhaled@thenational.ae

The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals

To qualify automatically

UAE must beat Iraq.

Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.

Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.

To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match

UAE must beat Iraq.

Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.

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.”

Super Rugby play-offs

Quarter-finals

Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
Lions 23, Sharks 21
Chiefs 17, Stormers 11

Semi-finals

Saturday, July 29

Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six

Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm

Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual

Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km

On sale: Available to order now

Price: From Dh801,800

RESULT

Wolves 1 (Traore 67')

Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')

Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)

Cheeseburger%20ingredients

%3Cp%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20burger%20%C2%A30.44%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20bun%20%C2%A30.17%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%20a%20single%20cheese%20slice%20%C2%A30.04%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20Gherkins%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20ketchup%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%20%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20mustard%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3Cbr%3EPrice%20for%2010g%20onions%20is%20less%20than%20%C2%A30.01%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETotal%2068p%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECredit%3A%20Meal%20Delivery%20Experts%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

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

Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14

Brentford v Arsenal
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Crystal Palace
Everton v Southampton
Leicester City v Wolves
Manchester United v Leeds United
Newcastle United v West Ham United
Norwich City v Liverpool
Tottenham v Manchester City
Watford v Aston Villa

SANCTIONED

Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.