Hiddink hands chance to duo

Goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov and midfielder Viktor Budyanski are the new names in the Russia squad for next month's two UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers.

Akinfeev loss
Guus Hiddink has named a 23-man selection for the fixtures which begin with Andorra heading to St Petersburg on 2 June before third-placed Russia travel to Zagreb to face Group E leaders Croatia four days later. Gabulov's selection has come about after the serious knee injury suffered by No1 Igor Akinfeev, although Vyacheslav Malafeev is likely to be the direct replacement. Budyanski's call has come about after some impressive Serie A performances by the 23-year-old Ascoli Calcio 1898 defensive midfielder.

Russia squad
Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (FC Zenit St. Peterburg), Dmitri Borodin (FC Torpedo Moskva), Vladimir Gabulov (FC Kuban Krasnodar).

Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (PFC CSKA Moskva), Aleksei Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Vasili Berezutski (PFC CSKA Moskva), Denis Kolodin (FC Dinamo Moskva), Aleksandr Anyukov (FC Zenit St Peterburg), Roman Shishkin (FC Spartak Moskva), Sergei Yefimov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva).

Midfielders: Yuri Zhirkov (PFC CSKA Moskva), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (FC Lokomotiv Moskva), Igor Semshov (FC Dinamo Moskva), Konstantin Zyrianov (FC Zenit St. Peterburg), Viktor Budyanski (Ascoli Calcio 1898), Dmitri Torbinskiy (FC Spartak Moskva), Aleksei Rebko (FC Spartak Moskva), Vladimir Bystrov (FC Spartak Moskva).

Forwards: Ivan Saenko (1. FC Nurnberg), Andrei Arshavin (FC Zenit St. Peterburg), Pavel Pograbnyak (FC Zenit St. Peterburg), Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Sevilla FC), Dmitri Sychev (FC Lokomotiv Moskva).