Forssell back in the fold

Forward Mikael Forssell has been called into Finland's squad for next week's friendly against Northern Ireland, but Jari Litmanen has missed out with an achilles injury.

Mönchengladbach loan
Forssell returned to action for his English Premiership club Chelsea FC in a reserve match last week after a long layoff with a knee injury before moving to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on loan until the end of the season. The call-up is his first since a friendly against Portugal last March.

Vayrynen included
Finland coach Antti Muurinen has replaced Litmanen with SC Heerenveen's 21-year-old uncapped forward Mika Vayrynen. "I think that we have a strong and good team," said Finland spokesman Timo Walden. "Vayrynen has had an excellent season with Heerenveen."

Familiar look
The rest of the squad has a familiar look, anchored in defence by Liverpool FC's Sami Hyypiä and RSC Anderlecht's Hannu Tihinen with Joonas Kolkka and Aki Riihilahti marshalling the midfield. The match will serve as a warm-up for Finland's next UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier in Italy on 29 March. The Finns are fourth in Group 9 with three points from their first three matches.

Finland squad
Jaaskelainen, Niemi, Hietanen, Hyypiä, Kuivasto, P Pasanen, Saarinen, Tihinen, Kolkka, Kopteff, Nurmela, Riihilahti, Tainio, Valakari, Forssell, S Kuqi, Jonatan Johansson, Vayrynen.