Netherlands became the first team through to the World Cup quarter-finals with an entertaining 3-1 victory over the USA on Saturday.
Memphis Depay finished off a superb move to open the scoring in the 10th minute and Daley Blind made it two at Khalifa International Stadium just before half-time.
The USA threatened a comeback when Haji Wright pulled one back in the 76th minute but Denzel Dumfries ensured it was the Dutch that progressed to the last eight with their third five minutes later.
Louis Van Gaal named an unchanged side from the one that beat Qatar in their final group match while Walker Zimmerman and Jesus Ferreira came in for the USA.
Gregg Berhalter’s team made an excellent start and had a golden chance to take the lead in the third minute when Tyler Adams flicked the ball over the top for Christian Pulisic but Andries Noppert pulled off an excellent save.
All the attacking intent was coming from the USA but Netherlands scored from their first real foray forward.
One of the best moves of the tournament saw the Dutch pass their way through their opponents in clinical fashion before Dumfries perfectly cut the ball back from wide on the right for the onrushing Depay, who swept it into the bottom corner.
The Dutch have been criticised at home for playing dull football and for the next half an hour, barring one shot fired well over the bar by Blind, they were content simply to keep their opponents at arm’s length.
The USA finally tested Noppert again in the 43rd minute with a crisply struck shot from Timothy Weah from 22 yards but heading into stoppage time Netherlands doubled their advantage.
In a near copy of the first goal, Dumfries again played the ball in low from the right and this time it was Blind who stroked his shot into the net before celebrating with his father Danny, who is on Netherlands’ coaching staff.
Both managers made changes at the break, with Steven Bergwijn and Teun Koopmeiners coming on for the Dutch and Giovanni Reyna for the USA.
Berhalter’s side needed a quick response and they almost got it as Tim Ream threatened from a corner but the defender could not get enough on the ball and Cody Gakpo cleared from in front of the line.
At the other end Matt Turner had to be alert to prevent Zimmerman scoring an own goal after he got a toe to another cross from Dumfries before pushing Depay’s dipping effort over the bar.
The USA were living dangerously as they pushed for a way back into the game, and Turner pulled off a fine double save in the 71st minute, parrying Koopmeiners’ shot and then getting up to keep out Depay’s headed follow-up.
That looked even more important five minutes later when the US did get their goal.
Wright had come close moments earlier when he seized on a poor pass from Bergwijn and went round Noppert but his touch pushed him too wide and Dumfries was able to clear.
Pulisic was the architect of the goal with a ball in from the right that Wright somehow flicked with his heel over Noppert and into the far corner.
The keeper then came flying out to clear as Wright looked to break through again but USA hopes ended nine minutes from time as the Dutch broke away and Dumfries grabbed the goal his performance deserved.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15 (First Test)
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24 (Second Test)
July 8: New Zealand v Lions (Third Test) - kick-off 11.30am (UAE)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
