Tsiartas ruled out for Greece

Venetidis out
The 32-year-old 1. FC Köln midfield player is suffering from a calf problem and has been omitted from coach Otto Rehhagel's 20-man squad. Left-back Stylianos Venetidis also misses out after undergoing season-ending ligament surgery on Tuesday.

Tsiartas blow
The news is a blow to Rehhagel whose side are under pressure to beat second-placed Denmark after a poor start to their Group 2 campaign. The European champions have picked up just five points from their opening four matches, with Tsiartas providing a rare high note - his stunning 81st-minute free-kick earning a point in a 1-1 draw with leaders Ukraine in Kyiv in October.

Goumas chance
Since then Greece have beaten Kazakhstan 3-1, and Rehhagel makes two additions to the squad selected for that match in November, Panathinaikos FC central defender Ioannis Goumas and 1. FC Kaiserslautern striker Ioannis Amanatidis coming in.

Amanatidis return
Goumas, who has been capped 29 times, was a member of Greece's UEFA EURO 2004™-winning squad, but did not feature, while Amanatidis is in line to win his fourth cap almost a year since his last appearance for Greece in a friendly win over Bulgaria.

Greece squad
Nikopolidis (Olympiacos CFP), Chalkias (Portsmouth FC), Dellas (AS Roma), Seitaridis (FC Porto), Fyssas (SL Benfica), Kyrgiakos (Rangers FC), Kapsis (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Goumas (Panathinaikos FC), Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers FC), Karagounis (FC Internazionale Milano), Zagorakis (Bologna FC), Basinas (Panathinaikos FC), Georgiadis (Olympiacos CFP), Kafes (Olympiacos CFP), Katsouranis (AEK Athens FC), Lakis (Crystal Palace FC), Amanatidis (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Charisteas (AFC Ajax), Vryzas (RC Celta de Vigo), Papadopoulos (Panathinaikos FC).