It has not been a particularly straightforward start to the season for Daniel Sturridge.
Liverpool may be looking down at the rest of the Premier League after 11 matches, but the striker’s role in his team’s rise has been rather limited.
Sturridge, 27, has started only four Premier League games this season, and has been substituted in each one, while he failed to make it off the bench in victories over Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.
Most concerning of all, the former Chelsea and Manchester City forward is without a goal in the league since April and has scored just 12 times in the same competition in the last two and a half years.
Jurgen Klopp’s preference for the more mobile and all-action Roberto Firmino has pushed Sturridge down the pecking order at Anfield, and his future at club level is uncertain as a result.
That is not the case on the international stage, though.
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• UAE v Iraq: Ismail Matar and Walid Abbas form hearten Mahdi Ali ahead of World Cup qualifier against Iraq
Sturridge may have expected to again be excluded from the starting XI when England locked horns with Scotland on Friday in their World Cup qualifier, particularly as Harry Kane had made his comeback from seven weeks on the sidelines in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw with arch rivals Arsenal last weekend.
Instead, interim manager Gareth Southgate retained faith in the forward who had spearheaded the attack in his two previous games in charge, a 2-0 win over Malta and a goalless draw with Slovenia.
That decision paid off handsomely. Sturridge broke the deadlock at a time when Gordon Strachan’s side were on top, stooping to head Kyle Walker’s fizzed delivery into the far corner. It was a fine finish that few players on the pitch could have replicated.
Scotland made a bright start at Wembley, initially pressing England high up the pitch and snapping into tackles in midfield, where the tenacious Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher were not shy in imposing their physicality on the game.
England were forced into several sloppy moments in the opening exchanges, with John Stones caught in possession twice and fellow central defender Gary Cahill also looking uncomfortable whenever he was closed down quickly.
England had problems playing out from the back throughout, with Scotland benefiting from multiple turnovers in advanced areas. Strachan’s side were never able to take full advantage, though. The visitors were guilty of poor decision-making in some instances, but what let them down most was their profligacy in front of goal.
While there was plenty in England’s performance that was far from perfect, that particular charge could not be levelled at them.
Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Cahill all did brilliantly to guide headed efforts past Craig Gordon, with the clinical edge of Southgate’s side inside the penalty area ultimately the difference.
Sturridge did not contribute a great deal outside of scoring the opener — it was in fact his only effort on goal — but that moment alone was another timely reminder of the fact that he is his country’s most reliable finisher and a player who still has plenty to offer in the right set-up.
It is difficult to see him getting back into the Liverpool team any time soon — although his ability cannot be denied, Firmino is clearly a better fit in such a fluid frontline — but Sturridge remains a key man for his country.
Southgate, who took a big step closer to landing the England job on a full-time basis after Friday’s convincing triumph, is unlikely to forget that in a hurry.
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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BeIN Sports currently has the rights to show
- Champions League
- English Premier League
- Spanish Primera Liga
- Italian, French and Scottish leagues
- Wimbledon and other tennis majors
- Formula One
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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