Iraq have only played in one World Cup finals, in 1986. If they win their next match then they will be going to the expanded 48-team finals next year.
That crucial next game is against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, a one-off between Iraq, ranked 58th in the world and neighbours Saudi Arabia, 59th. The hosts, managed by French coach Herve Renard, are a regional powerhouse and have played in six of the past eight global finals.
It could not be closer for this Group B game. Iraq are in a great position after Saturday’s 1-0 win against Indonesia, coached by Patrick Kluivert, and with Jordi Cruyff as their technical boss.
That, too, was played in Jeddah. The game was even, but Indonesia didn’t have forwards to finish their chances and Iraq had Zidane Iqbal. The former Manchester United midfielder who grew up in Manchester, son of an Iraqi mother and a Pakistani father, is thriving at Utrecht in the Eredivisie.
But Iqbal is returning from injury and was introduced at half-time. With 14 minutes left, he hit a brilliant, match-winning goal from outside the box for Graham Arnold’s team, eliminating Indonesia.
Arnold, an Australian, only took charge in May after becoming Australia’s longest-serving coach in a six-year stint up to 2024. Along with his assistant Rene Muelensteen, Arnold was given the formidable task of trying to qualify Iraq for the World Cup finals.
Arnold has plenty of experience and was satisfied as his players held their nerve when tempers flared towards the end.
Indonesia captain Jay Idzes acted as peacemaker after Indonesia fans threw water bottles onto the pitch in anger at the decisions from Chinese referee Ma Ning. Two Indonesia players were sent off as the match drew to a close.
“We knew it would be a tough game with the temperature and everything but this 1-0 victory will give us a lot of confidence,” Iqbal said. “It will be a tough game against Saudi Arabia, but hopefully we will win.”
Iraq have been banned from staging games at home six times since 1980 due to war and security concerns; the last of those bans was in 2019.
Since then, the country has successfully staged the 2023 Arabian Gulf Cup and plays home games at the impressive 65,000-capacity Basra International Stadium, opened in 2009. Yet Iraq are used to being on the road: only three of their 16 games since the start of 2024 have been in their own country.
The current Iraq team – known as the Lions of Mesopotamia – are impressive, a side with a physical edge that likes to play in a 3-2-4-1 system and attack their opponents with two numbers 10s.
Its members are drawn from clubs from the domestic Iraqi league, Saudi Pro League and from secondary global leagues including Sweden and Denmark. Almost all of Saudi Arabia’s players work in their own country.
Iqbal should be fit to start against Saudi Arabia, and the winners of the game will advance to the finals, the losers to another round of preliminaries.
Playing in front of a febrile home crowd will be a tough challenge for Iraq. There were 14,000 in the stadium for Saturday’s win against Indonesia. Closer to 60,000 are expected on Wednesday.
“It’s the dream for the players to go to the World Cup,” said Arnold, who knows what to expect having led Australia to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. “But now all the pressure is on Saudi Arabia. They've had five days [since their last game, a 3-2 win over Indonesia].
“They’re in a hotel thinking about this game and the players will be thinking a lot about that. It’s tough when you have a nation like Saudi Arabia and the pressure that’s put on the players.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
RESULTS
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
