Croatia trio expelled from squad

The race to reach Austria and Switzerland in summer 2008 is firmly under way and with another 21 qualifying fixtures on Wednesday, coaches across the continent are counting the cost of weekend exertions.

Croatia's preparations for the start of their Group E campaign in Moscow have been hit by the expulsion of Darijo Srna, Ivica Olić and Boško Balaban. The key attacking trio reportedly left the squad's training base to visit a Zagreb nightclub, much to the dismay of coach Slaven Bilić who is preparing for his first competitive match in charge. "I have excluded them for the match against Russia," he said after a private meeting with the players before confirming he would not call up any replacements. The Croatian Football Federation is to investigate the matter.

Marco van Basten has made three changes to his Netherlands squad for the Group G match against Belarus in Eindhoven after being unhappy with the 1-0 win in Luxembourg on Saturday. Three AZ Alkmaar players - defenders Tim De Cler and Kew Jaliens, and attacker Martijn Meerdink - have left the selection with Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Khalid Boulahrouz coming in following suspension. AFC Ajax talent Wesley Sneijder returns after missing out at the weekend for personal reasons.

Dimitar Berbatov is expected to miss the visit of Slovenia to Sofia after the Bulgaria striker suffered a muscle strain during Saturday’s 2-2 draw in Romania that gave Hristo Stoichkov's men a solid start to their Group G campaign. Bulgaria will also be without goalkeeper Georgi Petkov with a head injury picked up towards the end of the fixture. PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv goalkeeper Stoyan Kolev has been added to the squad.

France coach Raymond Domenech has called up FC Girondins de Bordeaux midfielder Julien Faubert to replace David Trezeguet for the Group B game against Italy. Trezeguet sat out France’s 3-0 victory in Georgia on Saturday with a groin injury. Faubert, part of the France squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, scored on his international debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina last month. Les Bleus are also worried about knee knocks affecting striker Louis Saha and Claude Makelele.

Manchester United FC prospect Johnny Evans has been drafted into the Northern Ireland squad for the Group F visit of Spain to Belfast. The 18-year-old defender has been capped three times at U21 level and will hope for a chance in the senior side after they lost 3-0 at home to Iceland on Saturday.