Antić gives omitted Serbia pair hope

Having kicked off UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying with a 2-1 defeat in Estonia on 11 August, the Faroe Islands return to Group C action against Serbia, who experienced a busy summer after booking their ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.

Team news
• Brian Kerr has named two newcomers in his Faroe Islands squad, with 21-year-old defender and midfielder Pól Jóhannus Justinussen given a chance after sterling work with the Under-21 team, and Danish-born midfielder Daniel Udsen, 26, free to play for his grandmother's home country, having joined local side EB/Streymur this season. Capped 62 times, Jákup á Borg is absent after announcing his retirement from international football. Arnbjørn Hansen was called in to replace injured NSÍ Runavík forward Christian Høgni Jacobsen.

• Faroe Islands squad
Goalkeepers: Gunnar Nielsen (Tranmere Rovers FC), Tórdur Thomsen (HB Tórshavn)
Defenders: Johan Troest Davidsen (NSÍ Runavík), Einar Hansen (NSÍ Runavík), Jónas Tór Næs (B36 Tórshavn), Hendrik Rubeksen (HB Tórshavn), Atli Gregersen (Ross County FC), Egil á Bø (EB/Streymur), Pól Jóhannus Justinussen (B68 Toftir), Bartal Eliasen (ÍF Fuglafjørður)
Midfielders: Bogi Løkin (NSÍ Runavík), Jann Ingi Petersen (NSÍ Runavík), Jústinus R. Hansen (NSÍ Runavík), Fródi Benjaminsen (HB Tórshavn), Símun Samuelsen (HB Tórshavn), Daniel Udsen (EB/Streymur), Christian L. Holst (Silkeborg IF)
Forwards: Jóan Símun Edmundsson (Newcastle United FC), Christian R. Mouritsen (B36 Tórshavn), Arnbjørn Hansen (EB/Streymur)

• Sevilla FC defender Ivica Dragutinović and Genoa CFC midfielder Boško Janković are absent with long-term injuries, but Chelsea FC's Branislav Ivanović is included in the Serbia squad, though he has little chance of featuring against the Faroe Islands due to a back problem. FK Partizan goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković and Olympiacos FC forward Marko Pantelić miss out having only recently moved clubs, but coach Radomir Antić said: "If Stojković and Pantelić work hard in the time ahead, the door is still open."

• Serbia squad
Goalkeepers: Andjelko Djuričić (UD Leiria), Željko Brkić (FK Vojvodina), Bojan Isailović (Zagłębie Lubin)
Defenders: Antonio Rukavina (TSV 1860 München), Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea FC), Pavle Ninkov (FK Crvena Zvezda), Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United FC), Neven Subotić (BV Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Luković (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Ivan Obradović (Real Zaragoza), Jagoš Vuković (PSV Eindhoven)
Midfielders: Dejan Stanković (FC Internazionale Milano), Gojko Kačar (Hamburger SV), Zdravko Kuzmanović (VfB Stuttgart), Miloš Ninković (FC Dynamo Kyiv), Nenad Milijaš (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Miloš Krasić (Juventus), Milan Jovanović (Liverpool FC),Zoran Tošić (PFC CSKA Moskva), Radosav Petrović (FK Partizan), Nemanja Tomić (FK Partizan)
Forwards: Nikola Žigić (Birmingham City FC), Danko Lazović (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Dragan Mrdja (FC Sion)

Match background
• The Faroe Islands' record in two games against Serbia reads W0 D0 L2 (W0 D0 L1 at home).

• The Faroes also contested six matches against Yugoslavia that left them with equally stark statistics: W0 D0 L6 (W0 D0 L3 at home, though one of those fixtures was held in Landskrona, Sweden).

• In their eight meetings with Serbia and Yugoslavia, the Faroe Islands have scored just twice, while conceding 32 times for an average of four goals per game.

• The three most recent of those matches all ended in 2-0 defeats, with the scoreline 1-0 at half-time on each occasion.

• The Faroe Islands' best 45 minutes of football against Yugoslavia came in a 1998 World Cup qualifier in Belgrade; John Petersen scored eight minutes into the second half and he and his colleagues managed to prevent their opponents from scoring. Unfortunately, they were already 3-0 down at the time.

• That remains the only time the Faroes have survived a whole half without conceding against either Serbia or Yugoslavia.