Quartet handed Serbia chance

Miroslac Djukić will give four uncapped players an opportunity to win a place at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship after selecting a 21-man squad for Serbia's final two friendly matches before this summer's finals in the Netherlands.

'The new Žigić'
For the matches against Belgium in Belgrade on 23 March and Portugal in Novi Sad four days later, Djukić will take a look at goalkeeper Aleksandar Kesić, defenders Nikola Petković and Zoran Tosić, and the striker Dalibor Veselinović - a player who stands two-metres tall and has been hailed as "the new Nikola Žigić" in his homeland.

Five promoted
The coach has turned to that quartet following the loss of five regulars to the senior squad for their UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying matches – Antonio Rukavina (FK Partizan), Duško Tošić (FC Sochaux-Montbéliard), Boško Janković (RCD Mallorca), Miloš Krasić (PFC CSKA Moskva) and Stefan Babović (OFK Beograd). All those players are expected to feature in the Netherlands, however.

'Great test'
Djukić said: "These matches will be a great test for us," the coach added. "Both teams have also qualified for the finals, and are in a different group to us, so we'll be able to see where we are. I shall tell the players the tournament in June is very close and that we expect to do well, so we must prepare properly."

Serbia squad
Goalkeepers: Damir Kahriman (FK Vojvodina), Igor Stefanović (FK Zemun), Aleksandar Kesić (FK Mladost Apatin).

Defenders: Nemanja Rnić (FK Partizan), Zoran Rendulic (SV Ried), Gojko Kacar (FK Vojvodina), Branislav Ivanović (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Aleksandar Kolarov (OFK Beograd), Nikola Petković (FK Vojvodina), Zoran Tosić (FK Banat).

Midfielders: Marko Perović (FK Crvena Zvezda), Milos Ninković (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Predrag Pavlović (FK Napredak), Dejan Milovanović (FK Crvena Zvezda), Milan Smiljanić (FK Partizan), Nikola Drincić (FC Amkar Perm), Djordje Ivelja (OFK Beograd), Nebojsa Marinković (FK Partizan).

Forwards: Dalibor Veselinović (OFK Beograd), Djordje Rakić (OFK Beograd), Dragan Mrdja (K. Lierse SK).