Quaresma and Metzelder miss out

FC Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma has undergone surgery to his jaw and will miss Portugal's UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A qualifier in Finland on 6 September. The 22-year-old scored and then broke his jaw as Porto got the Liga season under way with a 2-1 victory against UD Leiria on Friday. With Quaresma ruled out for a fortnight, the uncapped Sporting Clube de Portugal winger Nani has been drafted into the squad.

Also in Group A, Poland coach Leo Beenhakker has added Boavista FC midfielder Przemysław Kaźmierczak to his plans for the qualifiers against Finland on 2 September and Serbia four days later. The 24-year-old Kaźmierczak played for Poland three times in 2005.

Germany coach Joachim Löw will be without all four of his FIFA World Cup central defenders for the Group D matches against the Republic of Ireland and San Marino after Christoph Metzelder joined Per Mertesacker, Robert Huth and Jens Nowotny on the sidelines. The BV Borussia Dortmund defender, 25, was expected to be back this week but a knee injury turned out to be more serious than anticipated and he will undergo surgery on Thursday. Alexander Madlung, 24, from VfL Wolfsburg has been drafted in and could win his first cap.

A muscle injury sustained on league duty with Hamburger SV means Rafael van der Vaart will miss the Netherlands’ opening games against Luxembourg and Belarus. Coach Marco van Basten is likely to name a replacement.

Manchester United FC centre-back Rio Ferdinand will join up with the England squad despite fears over a toe injury. The 27-year-old limped out of United's 2-1 Premiership win at Watford FC on Saturday but a scan revealed bruising to the toe and no fracture. England play Group E rivals Andorra on 2 September and F.Y.R. Macedonia away four days later.

In the same section, Israel have announced they will play their opening home game - against Andorra on 6 September - in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. No European competition matches can be staged in Israel until further notice. Dror Kashtan's team kick off their campaign in Estonia four days earlier.

Hamburger SV's David Jarolím has withdrawn from the Czech Republic squad to face Wales and Slovakia in Group D after the 27-year-old midfielder broke a bone in his forearm during Sunday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw against Hertha BSC Berlin. Coach Karel Brückner has brought in Marek Matějovský from FK Mladá Boleslav and the in-form FK Jablonec 97 forward David Lafata, both of whom are uncapped, as well as FC Salzburg midfielder Karel Piták.

FC København winger Jesper Gronkjær and Brøndby IF defender Per Nielsen have pulled out of Denmark's squad for the home friendly against Portugal on Friday, although both could play in the Group F qualifier against Iceland in Reykjavik on 6 September. VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Bo Svensson, 27, replaces Nielsen for the Portugal match.

Everton FC defender David Weir will captain Scotland in their opening Group B fixtures against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania in the absence of injured Rangers FC midfielder Barry Ferguson.