Jude Bellingham said he was happy to bounce back from his subdued performance against Ukraine after producing a dazzling display in England's comfortable friendly win over rivals Scotland on Tuesday.
Bellingham, regarded as one of the finest young talents in world football, has been in sensational form for Real Madrid since moving to the Spanish giants this summer, scoring five goals in his first four games.
However, the 20-year-old midfielder was, like many of his teammates, below his best in the 1-1 draw with Ukraine in Saturday's Euro 2024 qualifier. But against an outclassed Scotland he was magnificent in a more advanced role, producing a silky display which included a goal and an assist for captain Harry Kane.
“I wasn’t happy with how I played against Ukraine, I showed a level that probably wasn’t anywhere near my best and the motivation is to always get back to my best and I think that was close to it tonight,” Bellingham said.
“I knew tonight was more than a friendly game, it means too much to the fans, with bragging rights and all those sorts of things. I knew I wanted to be near to my best tonight so the England fans could go home happy.”
Previously viewed as an all-round, box-to-box midfielder, Bellingham has been deployed in a more advanced role by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti this season – and to great effect.
Used in a similar position for England against Scotland, Bellingham showed why he can be such a devastating attacking threat.
“This was probably close [to my best role]. I know it depends on the system we play,” he said.“ I think it’s a freedom role. If you look at my performances in Madrid so far, they are ones that are quite complete because I get given the freedom by the amazing teammates, coaching staff, and manager that I’ve got.
“They allow me to go all over the pitch, to help with build-up, to be in the box and finish the chances and to create as well. I think I can do all that pretty well, I can still do it a lot better and that’s what I’m trying to prove."
However, Bellingham added that he is happy to play anywhere for England if it means helping the team.
“It’s tough because we have so many amazing players to accommodate and to get the best out of, so it shouldn’t just be built around what I do," he said. "The team has to come first always and I try to do my best to slot in and do whatever the gaffer wants from me.”
England manager Gareth Southgate said that Bellingham did not have any point to prove despite a subdued display against Ukraine, with the draw leaving England six points clear at the top of qualifying Group C.
"Saturday was not his best game but we weren't at the level we wanted to be and we knew he has a fantastic personality to come back from that," Southgate said.
"His performances have been outstanding and one performance isn't going to change that. As an attacking eight, or where he played tonight, he looks to get into the box.
"Tonight his athleticism to press was so important. Scotland's system is difficult to play against so we slightly changed our system and he did that well."
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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.”
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
