Kirchler back in Austria squad

Roland Kirchler from SV Austria Salzburg was the surprise addition as Austria coach Hans Krankl named his 18-man squad for the friendly international against Scotland next week.

'Good performances'
The 32-year-old midfield player received a call-up for the first time in 20 months, with his coach hoping that he can make a valuable contribution to the team. "After a series of good performances he deserved to be in the squad," said Krankl. "Kirchler should bring experience and results to the team."

Valuable preparation
Krankl will use the friendly game against Berti Vogts's side to prepare for the Austrians' next UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers. "The friendly match against Scotland is a preparation for the EURO 2004™ qualifying matches against Moldova and Belarus," he said. "We want a far better performance than in the match against the Czech Republic and we want results."

Third place
Austria currently lie third in Group 3 with six points, four points adrift of the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. After winning their opening two games, Austria have since lost 3-0 at home against the Dutch and 4-0 in the Czech Republic.

Austria squad
Mandl, Payer, Dospel, Ehmann, Hieblinger, Pogatetz, Scharner, Stranzl, Aufhauser, Flögel, Kirchler, Panis, Schopp, Wagner, Weissenberger, Haas, Herzog, Wallner.