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Spain missing trio as for Group I games

Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas and Pedro Rodríguez are missing from Spain's squad, but Lithuania – their opponents on Tuesday – have concerns over some of their key players.

Juan Mata has been called up by Spain
Juan Mata has been called up by Spain ©Getty Images

Spain's win against the Czech Republic on Friday preserved their perfect record in UEFA EURO 2012 Group I, despite being without a trio of injured players. Scotland sit out this round of fixtures but have a friendly against Brazil at Arsenal Stadium in London on Sunday.

25 March: Spain v Czech Republic
29 March: Czech Republic v Liechtenstein, Lithuania v Spain

Latest standings

Spain
Vicente del Bosque was forced to omit injured trio Carles Puyol (knee), Cesc Fàbregas (hamstring) and Pedro Rodríguez (groin) from his squad. Athletic Club full-back Andoni Iraola has been drafted in, while Under-21 stars Javi Martínez – also of Athletic – and Valencia CF's Juan Mata have graduated to the senior set-up. Del Bosque said: "We are looking for stability without taking our eye off others who are doing well at their respective clubs. We will be telling the players what we expect and hope that we can get the best out of them."

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF), José Reina (Liverpool FC), Víctor Valdés (FC Barcelona).

Defenders: Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid CF), Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid CF), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona), Carlos Marchena (Villarreal CF), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal CF), Andoni Iraola (Athletic Club).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid CF), Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal CF), Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona), Javi Martínez (Athletic Club), David Silva (Manchester City FC), Jesús Navas (Sevilla FC), Juan Mata (Valencia CF).

Forwards: David Villa (FC Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Club), Fernando Torres (Chelsea FC).

Czech Republic
Michal Bílek has included two uncapped players – Tomáš Vaclík and Libor Kozák – in a rejuvenated squad which features six of those who helped the Czech Republic qualify for the forthcoming UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals. Vaclík is a goalkeeper who plies his trade for second-tier club FC Viktoria Žižkov, while Kozák has impressed up front for S.S. Lazio this season, scoring five goals in 15 appearances.

There is also a place for in-form striker David Lafata, who has hit two hat-tricks for FK Jablonec in the first three league matches since the winter break. The experienced Milan Baroš, meanwhile, returns having last played for his country in September against Lithuania.

Goalkeepers: Petr Čech (Chelsea FC), Jan Laštůvka (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk), Tomáš Vaclík (FC Viktoria Žižkov).

Defenders: Zdeněk Pospěch (FC Kobenhavn), Roman Hubník (Hertha BSC Berlin), Michal Kadlec (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Ondřej Kušnír (AC Sparta Praha), Jan Rajnoch (MKE Ankaragücü), Daniel Pudil (KRC Genk), Tomáš Sivok (Beşiktaş JK).

Midfielders: Tomáš Rosický (Arsenal FC), Tomáš Hübschman (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Jan Morávek (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Jaroslav Plašil (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Jan Polák (VfL Wolfsburg), Jan Rezek (FC Viktoria Plzeň).

Forwards: Milan Baroš (Galatasaray AŞ), Tomáš Necid (PFC CSKA Moskva), Václav Kadlec (AC Sparta Praha), David Lafata (FK Jablonec), Adam Hloušek (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Libor Kozák (S.S. Lazio).

Liechtenstein
Just 15 players have been named in Hans-Peter Zaugg's squad, though he has pledged to cherry pick at least two more from six named in Liechtenstein's team for their opening 2011/13 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier away against Turkey on Friday 25 March: Andreas and Mathias Christen, Rony Hanselmann, Daniel Kaufmann, Wolfgang Kieber and Benjamin Fischer.

Goalkeepers: Cengiz Biçer (Mersin İdmanyurdu SK), Benjamin Büchel (USV Eschen/Mauren), Peter Jehle (FC Vaduz).

Defenders: Lucas Eberle (USV Eschen/Mauren), Martin Rechsteiner (FC Vaduz), Martin Stocklasa (SV Ried), Michael Stocklasa (USV Eschen/Mauren), Franz-Josef Vogt (USV Eschen/Mauren).

Midfielders: Martin Büchel (RC Deportivo La Coruña), Franz Burgmeier (FC Vaduz), Philippe Erne (FC Vaduz), Nicolas Hasler (USV Eschen/Mauren).

Forwards: Thomas Beck (FC Balzers), Mario Frick (Grasshopper-Club), David Hasler (FC Vaduz).

Lithuania
Defender Ramūnas Radavičius, midfielder Deividas Šemberas and forward Darvydas Šernas have all been rated doubtful for the Spain game, but Marius Stankevičius is in contention after playing in Lithuania's 2-0 win against Poland on Friday. "It was a good rehearsal for the Spain match," said captain Tomas Danilevičius. "We played on the counterattack and scored goals. That will give us more confidence for Tuesday."

Goalkeepers: Žydrūnas Karčemarskas (Gaziantepspor), Vytautas Černiauskas (SC Vaslui), Ernestas Šetkus (Olympiakos Nicosia FC).

Defenders: Marius Stankevičius (Valencia CF), Tadas Kijanskas (Jagiellonia Białystok), Ramūnas Radavičius (FK Ekranas), Andrius Skerla (Jagiellonia Białystok), Marius Žaliūkas (Heart of Midlothian FC), Tomas Žvirgždauskas (Halmstads BK), Valdemar Borovskij (FK Sūduva).

Midfielders: Kęstutis Ivaškevičius (Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC), Mindaugas Panka (Widzew Łódź), Deividas Česnauskis (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Edgaras Česnauskis (FC Dinamo Moskva), Deividas Šemberas (PFC CSKA Moskva), Saulius Mikoliūnas (FC Arsenal Kyiv), Dominykas Galkevičius (Zagłębie Lubin), Tomas Ražanauskas (FK Sūduva), Marius Papšys (FK Příbram).

Forwards: Darvydas Šernas (Widzew Łódź), Tomas Danilevičius (AS Livorno Calcio), Tadas Labukas (Arka Gdynia), Nerijus Astrauskas (VMFD Žalgiris).

 

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