NYON, SWITZERLAND // AC Milan will face the English FA Cup holders Portsmouth in the next phase of the Uefa Cup, while Tottenham have been drawn in a tough group with the joint leaders of Serie A Udinese and Manchester City will face the former England boss Steve McClaren's FC Twente.
The seven-time European Cup winners Milan have never won the Uefa Cup, viewed more as the Champions League's little sister, while Portsmouth are playing in European competition for the first time in their history.
"It is a good group all the way round," the Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie said. "But we will enjoy it and I am sure our fans will pinch themselves thinking Portsmouth Football Club are going to play AC Milan in European competition."
Heerenveen, Braga and Wolfsburg are also in Group E, which kicks off Oct 23.
Three teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages.
Group A contains Schalke, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Racing Santander and FC Twente, one of five Dutch teams still in the competition.
That means the former England coach Steve McClaren, who led Middlesbrough to the Uefa Cup final in 2006, will get the chance to pit his wits against English opposition in the guise of Man City. "With the amount of signings that Manchester City have made and the progress they have made as a football club they are now massive and expected to do very will this season with the likes of Robinho and Jo," McClaren said.
"It's a fantastic draw for the football club, for the fans, for the players. FC Twente have not been in Europe that often and already we've played Arsenal and Rennes."
Spurs have endured their worst start in English football since 1912 under coach Juande Ramos, who led Sevilla to back-to-back Uefa Cup titles before he moved to White Hart Lane last year.
Besides Udinese, the Premier League's bottom club will face Spartak Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb and NEC Nijmegen in Group D. Sevilla are lumped in a tough group with Stuttgart, Sampdoria, Partizan Belgrade and Standard Liege, who beat Everton in the previous round.
The Greek champions Olympiakos face Turkey's Galatasaray in what could be a security problem because of the two nation's traditional rivalry. Also in Group B are Benfica, Hertha Berlin and Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine.
Another tough group pairs Hamburg and Ajax with Sparta Prague, Aston Villa and MSK Zilina of Slovakia.
Valencia, one of four Spanish survivors, face FC Brugge, Rosenborg, FC Copenhagen and Saint-Etienne.
Deportivo La Coruna are grouped with CSKA Moscow, Feyenoord, Nancy and Lech Poznan.
The Uefa Cup final will be played on May 20 in Istanbul, Turkey.
*AP
Group A
Schalke 04
Paris St Germain
Manchester City
Racing Santander
FC Twente
Group B
Benfica
Olympiakos
Galatasaray
Hertha Berlin
Metalist Kharkiv
Group C
Sevilla
Stuttgart
Sampdoria
Partizan Belgrade
Standard Liege
Group D
Tottenham
Spartak Moscow
Udinese
Dinamo Zagreb
NEC Nijmegen
Group E
AC Milan
Heerenveen
SC Braga
Portsmouth
Vfl Wolfsburg
Group F
Hamburg
Ajax
Slavia Prague
Aston Villa
MSK Zilina
Group G
Valencia
Club Brugge
Rosenborg
FC Copenhagen
Saint-Etienne
Group H
CSKA Moscow
Deportiva La Coruna
Feyenoord
Nancy
Lech Poznan
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Brighton 1
Gross (50' pen)
Tottenham 1
Kane (48)
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
The%20Specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELamborghini%20LM002%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205.2-litre%20V12%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20450hp%20at%206%2C800rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E500Nm%20at%204%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFive-speed%20manual%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100kph%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%209%20seconds%20(approx)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20(approx)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYears%20built%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201986-93%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20vehicles%20built%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20328%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EValue%20today%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24300%2C000%2B%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
