Kocian keeping Slovakia cooking

New Slovakia coach Ján Kocian is looking to extend his unbeaten run after naming his squad for the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Cyprus and the Republic of Ireland.

Positive momentum
Having won two friendly games and drawn one since taking charge in November, Kocian hopes a combination of five Slovakia-based players and 15 exiles will help maintain the positive momentum. "I would like to lengthen the run - that is my first target," he said. The 49-year-old is yet to announce his first-choice goalkeeper for the Group D away matches, with Ľuboš Hajdúch challenging Kamil Čontofalský.

Slovakia squad
Goalkeepers: Kamil Čontofalský (FC Zenit St. Petersburg, Ľuboš Hajdúch (MFK Ružomberok).

Defenders: Martin Škrtel (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Maroš Klimpl (FC Baník Ostrava), Ján Ďurica (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Peter Šinglár (FC Slovan Liberec), Marek Čech (FC Porto), Vratislav Greško (1. FC Nürnberg).

Midfielders: Igor Žofčák (MFK Ružomberok), Dušan Švento (SK Slavia Praha), Matej Krajčík (SK Slavia Praha), Zdenko Štrba (MŠK Žilina), Marek Sapara (Rosenborg BK), Balázs Borbély (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Ján Kozák (FC Artmedia), Marek Hamšík (Brescia Calcio).

Forwards: Filip Hološko (Vestel Manisaspor), Róbert Vittek (1. FC Nürnberg), Martin Jakubko (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Stanislav Šesták (MŠK Žilina).