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Niemi back in Finland fold

Thursday, October 4, 2007 by Mikael Erävuori

Finland coach Roy Hodgson has handed Fulham FC goalkeeper Antti Niemi a surprise recall to the squad ahead of the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier with Belgium.

Finland coach Roy Hodgson has handed Fulham FC goalkeeper Antti Niemi a surprise recall to the squad ahead of the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier with Belgium.

Experienced reserve
Niemi, capped 66 times, announced his international retirement in spring 2005 but promised to return should his services be required again. With No1 Jussi Jääskeläinen being one yellow card away from a suspension, Hodgson wanted an experienced reserve behind the Bolton Wanderers FC goalkeeper. Hodgson must though cope without injured pair Jari Litmanen and Mikael Forssell for the Belgium match on 13 October, as Finland look to consolidate second-place in Group A.

Finland squad
Goalkeepers: Jussi Jääskeläinen (Bolton Wanderers FC), Antti Niemi (Fulham FC), Niki Mäenpää (FC Den Bosch).

Defenders: Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool FC), Hannu Tihinen (FC Zürich), Petri Pasanen (Werder Bremen), Toni Kallio (BSC Young Boys), Toni Kuivasto (Djurgårdens IF), Ari Nyman (FC Thun).

Midfielders: Teemu Tainio (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Mika Väyrynen (PSV Eindhoven), Joonas Kolkka (NAC Breda), Markus Heikkinen (SK Rapid Wien), Jari Ilola (IF Elfsborg), Mika Nurmela (HJK Helsinki), Jarkko Wiss (Tampere United), Daniel Sjölund (Djurgårdens IF), Roman Eremenko (Udinese Calcio), Aki Riihilahti (Djurgårdens IF).

Forwards: Alexei Eremenko Jr (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Jonatan Johansson (Malmö FF), Shefki Kuqi (Fulham FC).

© 1998-2024 UEFA. All rights reserved. Last updated: Thursday, October 4, 2007

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