Belarus stick with tried and tested

Belarus coach Yuri Kurnenin has stuck with the squad that qualified for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with no real surprises in his 23-man party for the tournament in Sweden this month.

Strongest lineup
"We have chosen the strongest lineup," Kurnenin said. "I know what players feel when they miss a major tournament. It happened to me. But just imagine how difficult it is to be the coach to tell somebody that he is not in the squad. I can't even explain what I feel. Everybody who was in our list of 40 candidates, deserved to play in the final round."

Kuchuk misses out
FC Kuban Krasnodar striker Aleksei Kuchuk is the one notable absentee, but otherwise the faces were familiar as the Belarus squad gathered on Monday to begin their preparations for the tournament which begins on 15 June. Belarus play a friendly against Finland in Valkeakoski on 6 June before travelling to Germany for a warm-up game against a local side in Ruit on 9 June. Belarus leave for Malmo on 14 June where they face hosts Sweden, Italy and Serbia in Group A.

Belarus squad
Goalkeepers: Pavel Chesnovski (FC Vitebsk), Artyom Gomelko (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Anton Kovalevski (FC Naftan Novopolotsk).

Defenders: Dmitri Verkhovtsov (FC Naftan Novopolotsk), Igor Shitov (FC BATE Borisov), Oleg Veretilo (FC Dinamo Minsk), Aleksei Yanushkevich (FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk), Aleksandr Martynovich (FC Dinamo Minsk), Nikolai Osipovich (FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk), Maksim Bordachov (FC BATE Borisov).

Midfielders: Mikhail Sivakov (Cagliari Calcio), Andrei Chukhlei (FC Dinamo Minsk), Aleksandr Volodko (FC BATE Borisov), Anton Putilo (FC Dinamo Minsk), Sergei Kislyak (FC Dinamo Minsk), Sergei Kryvets (FC BATE Borisov), Sergei Gigevich (FC Dinamo Minsk), Aleksandr Sachivko (FC Minsk), Sergei Balanovich (FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk), Mikhail Afanasiev (FC Amkar Perm).

Strikers: Leonid Kovel (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast), Dmitri Komarovski (FC Naftan Novopolotsk), Vladimir Yurchenko (FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast).