Hodgson sticks with familiar faces

Finland coach Roy Hodgson has opted for experience by naming a familiar 23-man squad for the forthcoming UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Poland and Portugal.

Kuivasto injured
Tottenham Hotspur FC midfielder Teemu Tainio and Malmö FF forward Jari Litmanen are back in the fold after missing this month's friendly against Northern Ireland through injury, while Mika Nurmela and Jarkko Wiss retain their places. Djurgårdens IF FF centre-back Toni Kuivasto is out with a knee problem, however, as Finland prepare to meet Poland in Bydgoszcz on 2 September before returning home to face Portugal in Helsinki four days later.

Finland squad
Goalkeepers: Jussi Jääskeläinen (Bolton Wanderers FC), Mikko Kavén (Tampere United), Magnus Bahne (FC International Turku).

Defenders: Petri Pasanen, (Werder Bremen), Sami Hyypiä, (Liverpool FC), Hannu Tihinen (FC Zürich), Ari Nyman (FC International Turku), Toni Kallio, (Molde FK), Markus Heikkinen, (Luton Town FC), Juha Pasoja (Ham-Kam Fotball).

Midfielders: Joonas Kolkka (Feyenoord), Jari Ilola, (IF Elfsborg), Aki Riihilahti (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Mika Väyrynen (PSV Eindhoven), Aleksei Eremenko Jr, (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Jarkko Wiss, (Tampere United), Mika Nurmela (HJK Helsinki), Teemu Tainio (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Pekka Lagerblom (1. FC Köln).

Forwards: Jari Litmanen, (Malmö FF), Jonatan Johansson (Malmö FF), Shefki Kuqi (Blackburn Rovers FC), Mikael Forssell (Birmingham City FC).