Chris Coleman insists Wales' poor form heading into Euro 2016 is nothing to be concerned about.
Wales suffered their heaviest defeat since September 2013 when Sweden beat them 3-0 at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on Sunday.
So Wales go into their first major tournament for 58 years having failed to win in four matches, their last victory coming at home to Andorra in their final Euro 2016 qualifier in October.
But Coleman said: “Had we beaten Sweden, it doesn’t guarantee anything next week.
“It’s always good to win, it’s good to play well, get a bit of momentum and confidence. But it doesn’t actually guarantee us anything next weekend.
“Forget about the run we’ve been on, what form you’re in, it’s all about that game.”
See also:
• Squad announcement: Joe Ledley, still recovering from fractured fibula, named in Wales' Euro 2016 squad
• Euro 2016: Wales know Gareth Bale 'always there' when needed
• The National's Euro 2016 predictions: Winners, flops, top scorer and player of the tournament
Wales open their Euro 2016 campaign against Slovakia in Bordeaux on Saturday. Five days later Wales play England in Lens before meeting Russia in Toulouse.
“That game doesn’t exist, the England game. It doesn’t mean anything,” said Coleman. “The only thing that means anything is the Slovakia game.
“We’re playing against a team who’ve been on a hell of a good run.
“They’ve won in Germany, they’ve just had a draw with Northern Ireland, who are on a great run.
“It’s not like we can go into it and say ‘We’re going to hold you back for the second game or the third game’.
“It’s all about that first game and we’ll use everything we have, all the powers we have to get the performance right in that first game.
“I’ve been saying for some time what a good team Slovakia are. They play good football and they’re very similar to the team we played today in certain elements.
“It’s a huge test for us next week, but it’s one we should have absolutely no fear about.”
Coleman expects to send out a far stronger side against Slovakia than he did versus Sweden.
Joe Allen, Joe Ledley and Hal Robson-Kanu are all said to be making good progress following injury and are in contention to play on Saturday.
Gareth Bale was protected until the 64th minute in Stockholm but he came through unscathed despite being on the end of a couple of crunching Swedish challenges.
“He got some minutes on the pitch and he’s totally focused on next week,” Coleman said of Bale. “He’s walked off the pitch and he’s fine. That’s the main thing, they all walked off OK.
“We qualified as fourth seeds and not many times does that happen. Nobody expected anything, and now we go into this round of three games as underdogs.
“It doesn’t mean we can’t produce something special, because we’re capable of it.”
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WWE Super ShowDown results
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
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Ability to sleep well diminishes
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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.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Rating: 4/5
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
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
THE LIGHT
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
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Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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