McCartney back for Belfast tie

West Ham United FC left-back George McCartney has been recalled to the Northern Ireland squad for their UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Liechtenstein in Belfast on 22 August.

Hughes out
The 26-year-old won the last of his 20 caps in 2005 but then fell out of favour under Lawrie Sanchez. New manager Nigel Worthington had no hesitation in picking McCartney, though, for his first competitive match in charge and he features in a 21-man squad denied the services of Fulham FC defender Aaron Hughes as he nurses an ankle injury. Northern Ireland are third in Group F, five points behind the leaders Sweden with a game in hand.

Northern Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Maik Taylor (Birmingham City FC), Roy Carroll (Rangers FC), Alan Mannus (Linfield FC).

Defenders: Michael Duff (Burnley FC), Chris Baird (Fulham FC), Gareth McAuley (Leicester City FC), Stephen Craigan (Motherwell FC), Jonathan Evans (Manchester United FC), Tony Capaldi (Cardiff City FC), George McCartney (West Ham United FC).

Midfielders: Damien Johnson (Birmingham City FC), Keith Gillespie (Sheffield United FC), Steven Davis (Fulham FC), Sammy Clingan (Nottingham Forest FC), Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wednesday FC), Steve Jones (Burnley FC), Grant McCann (Barnsley FC).

Forwards: Warren Feeney (Cardiff City FC), David Healy (Fulham FC), Kyle Lafferty (Burnley FC), Ivan Sproule (Bristol City FC).