Of course, it was him. It had to be. Who else would have stolen his thunder? Who else could have?
Lionel Messi struck down Australia on Saturday night, that lightning-in-a-bottle left foot opening the scoring and paving the way to the World Cup quarter-finals for Argentina.
The Ahmad bin Ali Stadium trembled and then paid tribute. For 90 minutes and more it felt less Al Rayyan and more Rosario. Or anywhere in Argentina.
Their captain had come to conquer. He did just that. In his milestone match, Messi moved within three games of removing that great big millstone from around his neck.
One thousand career matches and counting. By the end of the 1003rd, he could be cradling the one trophy that has eluded him when all others haven’t.
Argentina, two-time world champions, defeated Australia 2-1 on an eventually edgy night to edge on towards what they hope will be a third global title. Louis van Gaal and the Netherlands are next up on Friday.
Australia dispatched, another potential Asian Football Confederation banana skin avoided – just about, after a nervy finale – and Argentina are among the final eight teams at Qatar 2022.
Messi set them on their way. His first telling contribution, the game’s first real action of note, came as an otherwise flat first half crept to its conclusion.
On 35 minutes, the evergreen 35-year-old with a nation’s hopes on his shoulders latched on to Nicolas Otamendi’s touch near the edge of the Australia penalty area and steered his shot low past Mat Ryan.
Messi sprinted in the direction of his adoring fans behind the goal, setting off even before the ball had hit the net. He’s seen it hundreds of times before, anyway: 789 goals in a career almost unapparelled.
In the World Cup alone, it was the ninth time Messi had notched, taking him above the Diego Maradona he hopes to emulate come December 18 in Doha. Only Gabriel Batistuta, with 10 goals in the global finals, has more.
In present day, though, Messi has the Midas touch. The opener against Australia made it 13 goals in his last eight Argentina appearances.
But he was not to do it all by himself. Just before the hour, Argentina appeared to take the contest away from Australia.
Rodrigo De Paul put Ryan under pressure in his area, the goalkeeper took a heavy touch and was robbed by Julian Alvarez, who rolled the ball into the empty net. His second goal in Qatar, the Manchester City forward is clearly enjoying his first World Cup.
Messi, his fifth. Not long after Alvarez, Messi collected the ball in his own half and nearly finished it with the ultimate flourish, only for his shot to be blocked. Maybe he would match Maradona before even lifting the cup.
Then, out of the blue, Australia halved the deficit to tease from Argentina's grip a tense final 15 minutes. Pouncing on a clearance 25 yards from the Argentina goal, Craig Goodwin unleashed a shot that looked destined for the stands. However, it cannoned off Enzo Fernandez and flew past a static Emiliano Martinez.
Australia, attempting to make the quarter-finals for the first time, were back in it. From nowhere. And they possibly should have had another.
Aziz Behich slalomed into the Argentine area, a run as remarkable as Messi’s and, as he bore down on Martinez and prepared to pull the trigger, Lisandro Martinez threw himself at the shot to save his side. Those inside the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium held their collective breath.
They quickly held their heads in their hands. Not for an Australia equaliser, but for Lautaro Martinez’s miss that would have made safe the result. Messi – who else? – laid it on a plate; the Inter Milan attacker miscued wildly.
Then Ryan saved from Exequiel Palacios, Messi curled inches over following a fine run once more, and Ryan repelled Martinez. Still, Argentina were there.
Not quite. Right at the death, Emiliano Martinez saved from substitute Garang Kuol and his teammates piled on top of him in thanks. In relief also. Messi’s big night – aren’t they all at this point? – was safe. Argentina march on.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
New schools in Dubai
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.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
