Loose looks to youth

Liechtenstein coach Ralf Loose has named six new players in his 22-man squad for their UEFA EURO 2004™ Group 7 qualifying match against F.Y.R. Macedonia on 7 June in Skopje.

New faces
Franz-Josef Vogt, Claudio Alabor, Sandro Maierhofer and Raphael Rohrer have all been promoted from the Under-18 squad, while Chur 97's Remo Eberle and USV Eschen/Mauren's Roger Beck are also in line for debuts.

Key absentees
However, three key players are ruled out. Martin Stocklasa and Thomas Beck are suspended, while Harry Zech missed the game with a foot injury suffered in the 1-0 friendly victory against Saudi Arabia last month, only Liechtenstein's third-ever win.

Focus on youth
Loose said of his squad selection: "Three very important players will be missing in this match and therefore we needed to extend the squad. We have decided to call up talented youth players who have never had a chance to play for the national team."

Further doubts
Franz Burgmeier, Ronny Büchel and Martin Heeb are also doubtful because of injuries. "I am closely following the situation of these players and the only thing we can do is wait," said Loose

Sole point
Loose's team picked up their only point - and goal - in the group with a 1-1 draw against the Macedonians in September thanks to Michael Stocklasa's injury-time equaliser. Both teams remain without a win in the group, but Liechtenstein have since lost to Turkey, Slovakia and England, while Macedonia held the latter side.

Coach's aims
The coach admitted: "Macedonia will want to make up for the away match, but we are not focusing on that. The most important thing is that we assemble a squad and develop our tactics."

Liechtenstein squad