2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup group-by-group guide

Group-by-group form guide to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Canada from June 6-July 5:

Group A

Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands

As hosts, Canada are the team to beat in Group A with a nation behind them as they bid to advance to the knockout rounds after finishing bottom of their group in Germany four years ago. The highest ranked team in their group at eighth, Canada won bronze at the 2012 Olympics, but as hosts did not have any qualifying games to test their squad. A 1-0 World Cup tune-up win over England on May 30 provided a boost. Their leading challenger should be China, who failed to qualify for the 2011 edition and booked their spot by finishing in the top four of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup. The Chinese however failed to win any of their matches in the Algarve Cup, a warm-up tournament, last March, and lost 2-1 to Canada in a friendly, and England by the same score this year. The Netherlands will be competing in their first world tournament, while Oceania champions New Zealand are competing in their fourth and are ranked 17th.

Group B

Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, Thailand

Two-time winners Germany are the No 1 ranked team and should have few problems in this group as they bid to follow in the footsteps of their men’s team. The reigning European champions have had some injury worries and will be without Fifa Women’s World Player of the Year Nadine Kessler, but will be up against 1995 winners Norway, ranked 11, who were runners-up to the Germans at Euros in 2013. Their seventh world campaign was preceded by a third-place finish in the Algarve Cup in March and friendly wins over Brazil (4-0), and Switerland (3-1), the latter on artificial turf which will feature in Canada. They will open against debutants Ivory Coast, bronze medallists at the 2014 African Women’s Championships, with another team of newcomers Thailand, who scraped into the tournament by beating Vietnam in the Asian qualifer play-offs, completing the group.

Group C

Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador

Holders Japan are the team to beat in this group in which they are up against three World Cup newcomers in Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador. The Japanese have competed in every World Cup since the first in 1991 and lifted the title for the first time in Germany four years ago when they beat the United States in a dramatic penalty shootout. The Japanese went on to take silver at the 2012 Olympics and won the Asian Cup for the first time in 2014. Ranked fourth in the world, the Japanese take on 19th-ranked Switzerland first, who topped their European qualifying. South American side Ecuador booked their World Cup spot through play-offs and are ranked just 48th. African championship runners-up Cameroon, whose strength is their defence and their solid goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom, are ranked 53rd.

Group D

USA, Australia, Sweden, Nigeria

As two-time World Cup winners, the USA are up there among the tournament favourites once again after winning the Gold Cup for a seventh time last year. The Americans have never failed to reach at least the semi-finals, and were runners-up in Germany four years ago. Ranked second in the world, they also won the Algarve Cup warm-up tournament in March, beating France 2-0. Australia, Sweden and Nigeria however have the experience which could push the US. The 10th-ranked Australians were knocked out in the quarter-finals of their last two World Cup. Sweden are ranked fifth with 33rd-ranked Nigeria having their work cut out to get through the group despite winning nine of the last 11 African championships.

Group E

Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Costa Rica

Despite lacking their previous flair, Brazil should have no problems making it out of Group E. The Brazilians are the reigning six-time Copa America champions and are ranked seventh in the world. They have seasoned veterans with five-time Fifa Women’s World Player of the Year Marta, playing alongside Cristiane, goalkeeper Andreia and midfielder Formiga. South Korea’s star striker Park Eunsun will be hoping to lift the Asian side who are competing in their second World Cup and first since 2003. The 18th-ranked Koreans failed to win a match in their previous World Cup appearance and qualified by finishing fourth in the 2014 Asian Cup. Debutants Spain and Costa Rica will be hoping to cause some upsets. The Costa Rican men had a stunning run a year ago in Brazil, and their women will hoping to emulate that performance after finishing second in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.

Group F

France, England, Colombia, Mexico

France and England, two teams who marched undefeated through their qualifying rounds, will go head to head in Group F. France, ranked third, finished fourth in the last World Cup, knocking out England at the quarter-final stage, and are favourites to advance past the group stage. The French have been building momentum since advancing unbeaten through qualifying followed by last October’s first-ever 2-0 friendly victory over Germany in Offenbach. Despite finishing runners-up to the United States in the Algarve Cup they continued their preparations with a 1-0 friendly win over Canada last month. England will be playing their fourth tournament, reaching the quarter-finals in 1995, 2007 and 2011. Copa America runners-up Colombia will be hoping to cause some upsets while CONCACAF side Mexico, who lost 5-1 to the USA in a pre-tournament friendly this month, will have their work cut out in this group.

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Ukraine

Capital: Kiev

Population: 44.13 million

Armed conflict in Donbass

Russia-backed fighters control territory

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips

Rating: 2/5

Killing of Qassem Suleimani

National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate

Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead

Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble

Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks

Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence

Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile

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.”