Stam and Zahovic lift spirits

The Netherlands and Slovenia have been handed major boosts ahead of the UEFA EURO 2004™ play-offs next weekend.

Stam and Zahovic back
Dutch defender Jaap Stam and Slovenian playmaker Zlatko Zahovic have returned from injury and should be able to feature in the first legs on Saturday against Scotland and Croatia respectively. In all, ten teams are involved in five play-offs, with the winners of each fixture earning a place at next summer's finals in Portugal.

Three-week absence
Dutch coach Dick Advocaat will announce his squad for the match in Glasgow this afternoon and looks sure to name Stam after he returned from a three-week absence for his Italian side S.S. Lazio last night. The central defender has been suffering from a muscle problem but featured in the 2-0 defeat by AS Roma.

Good news
Meanwhile, Slovenia's inspirational playmaker Zahovic, who has been suffering with a broken toe, returned for SL Benfica in their UEFA Cup match against Molde FK last Thursday and then came through their 3-0 league win against FC Alverca last night unscathed.

Prašnikar worries
However, Slovenia coach Bojan Prašnikar does have worries over Sebastjan Cimirotic, Marko Simeunovic and Nastja Ceh. Cimerotic is almost certainly out because of achilles trouble but the other two are battling to be fit for the showdown in Zagreb.

Croatia lift
For their part, Croatia have been lifted by the news that Milan Rapaic has found a club in the shape of Serie A side Ancona Calcio, while Dado Pršo is in the form of his life for AS Monaco FC, especially after four goals against RC Deportivo La Coruña last week. However, the news is not all good as VfB Stuttgart midfield player Jurica Vranjes has a groin injury and may not play.

Vogts hopes
Scotland coach Berti Vogts will be particularly concerned about his captain Barry Ferguson and winger James McFadden, with the influential pair involved in an English Premiership match this evening. Ferguson, the Blackburn Rovers FC midfield player, will be going head to head with McFadden, of Everton FC, and Vogts will hope the pair come through unscathed.

Pahars concedes defeat
Latvia will take on Turkey in Riga without Southampton FC striker Marian Pahars after the player finally conceded defeat in his race to be fit. Pahars's ankle problem leaves coach Aleksandrs Starkovs short of options up front, especially as Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC forward Andrejs Prohorenkovs is also injured.

Russia concern
Russia are concerned about the fitness of Yegor Titov for their match in Moscow against Wales. FC Spartak Moskva player Yegor Titov sat out their weekend cup fixture against FC Kuban Krasnodar, which Spartak lost 2-1, with an ankle injury. His midfield colleague Alexei Smertin may also be forced out of the contest.

Spaniards unscathed
Spain were lifted ahead of their game against Norway in Valencia after three key players came through the weekend unscathed. Deportivo forward Albert Luque has recovered from an ankle sprain as has Vicente Rodríguez of Valencia CF. Crucially, Real Madrid CF player Iván Helguera played the full 90 minutes for his club after overcoming a hamstring problem. However, the one concern is still Real Betis Balompié winger Joaquín Sánchez, who has a groin injury.