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Hodgson hit by triple blow

Finland coach Roy Hodgson will be without a trio of key players in his 25-man squad for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A qualifiers against Serbia and Poland.

Finland coach Roy Hodgson is without a trio of key players in his 25-man squad for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A qualifiers against Serbia and Poland although he has been boosted by the return of midfielder Mika Väyrynen.

Trio out
Finland go into the matches in Belgrade on 8 September and Helsinki four days later second in their pool, trailing Poland by two points, and miss captain Jari Litmanen and midfielder Aki Riihilahti because of injury while defender Toni Kallio is ruled out through suspension. PSV Eindhoven's Väyrynen returns from his ban however, while there are surprise call-ups for Queen's Park Rangers FC defender Sampsa Timoska, Tampere United forward Jari Niemi and TPS Turku winger Mika Ääritalo. Talking about the 28-year-old Timoska, Hodgson said: "I haven't seen him play this season, but now I have time to get acquainted with him. We need players in the defence because of Kallio being out."

Finland squad
Goalkeepers: Jussi Jääskeläinen (Bolton Wanderers FC), Mikko Kavén (Tampere United), 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), Sampsa Timoska (Queen's Park Rangers FC).

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), Mika Ääritalo (TPS Turku).

Forwards: Alexei Eremenko Jr (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Mikael Forssell (Birmingham City FC), Jonatan Johansson (Malmö FF), Shefki Kuqi (Fulham FC), Jari Niemi (Tampere United).