Montenegro's destiny in their own hands
Monday, October 3, 2011
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Two wins from their final two games will give Montenegro automatic qualification to UEFA EURO 2012, but they must defeat unbeaten England in Podgorica to leapfrog Fabio Capello's men.
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Montenegro have their UEFA EURO 2012 destiny in their own hands as two wins from their final two games will mean they edge out England and qualify on a superior head-to-head record. The side have made it difficult for themselves, dropping five points in their last two games, and it will be no easy task for new coach Branko Brnović as they host the group leaders before a tough trip to Switzerland. A draw will be enough for England to secure top spot in Podgorica and Fabio Capello's men will be confident, having won every away tie so far and conceding just once; in a 3-1 victory in Switzerland.
7 October: Wales v Switzerland, Montenegro v England
11 October: Bulgaria v Wales, Switzerland v Montenegro
England (17 points)
Manchester United FC striker Danny Welbeck, who has five goals in his last six club games, has had his fine form rewarded. Tottenham Hotspur FC full-back Kyle Walker, meanwhile, is also included by Fabio Capello. The right-back, who scored the winner in Sunday's north London derby against Arsenal FC, is yet to make his senor international debut. Fulham FC forward Bobby Zamora is also recalled.
Goalkeepers: Scott Carson (Bursaspor), Joe Hart (Manchester City FC), David Stockdale (Ipswich Town FC).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton FC), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers FC), Ashley Cole (Chelsea FC), Phil Jagielka (Everton FC), Phil Jones (Manchester United FC), Micah Richards (Manchester City FC), John Terry (Chelsea FC), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur FC).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City FC), Stewart Downing (Liverpool FC), Adam Johnson (Manchester City FC), Frank Lampard (Chelsea FC), James Milner (Manchester City FC), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Theo Walcott (Arsenal FC), Ashley Young (Manchester United FC).
Forwards: Darren Bent (Aston Villa FC), Andy Carroll (Liverpool FC), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United FC), Bobby Zamora (Fulham FC).
Montenegro (11 pts)
Right-back Savo Pavićević is back in contention for the crucial qualifying matches against England and Switzerland after missing the 2-1 loss in Wales due to suspension. New head coach Brnović now has options in defence as Marko Baša, Milan Jovanović and Miodrag Džudović all return to the 24-man squad after being absent in Cardiff due to injury.
Goalkeepers: Mladen Božović (Videoton FC), Srđan Blažić (Panetolikos GFS).
Defenders: Marko Baša (LOSC Lille Métropole), Milan Jovanović (PFC Spartak Nalchik), Stefan Savić (Manchester City FC), Radoslav Batak (FK Mogren), Savo Pavičević (Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC), Miodrag Džudović (PFC Spartak Nalchik), Luka Pejović (Jagiellonia Białystok).
Midfielders: Elsad Zverotić (BSC Young Boys), Milorad Peković (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), Mitar Novaković (FC Amkar Perm), Vladimir Božović (FC Rapid Bucureşti), Mladen Kašćelan (ŁKS Łódź), Nikola Drinčić (FC Krasnodar), Marko Ćetković (Jagiellonia Białystok), Petar Grbić (Olympiacos FC), Simon Vukčević (Blackburn Rovers FC).
Forwards: Mirko Vučinić (Juventus), Radomir Djalović (FC Amkar Perm), Andrija Delibašić (Rayo Vallecano de Madrid), Stevan Jovetić (ACF Fiorentina), Dejan Damjanović (FC Seoul), Fatos Beqiraj (GNK Dinamo Zagreb).
Switzerland (8 pts)
FC Zürich left-back Ricardo Rodriguez has been drafted into the Switzerland squad after impressing Ottmar Hitzfeld in August's UEFA Champions League play-off defeat by FC Bayern München. Valon Behrami returns from suspension and Steve von Bergen is back after injury as Switzerland look to overhaul the three-point deficit on second-placed Montenegro, their final opponents on 11 October. They travel to Wales four days earlier.
Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg), Johnny Leoni (FC Zürich), Marco Wölfli (BSC Young Boys).
Defenders: Johan Djourou (Arsenal FC), Timm Klose (1. FC Nürnberg), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Ricardo Rodriguez (FC Zürich), Philippe Senderos (Fulham FC), Steve von Bergen (AC Cesena), Reto Ziegler (Fenerbahçe SK).
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (ACF Fiorentina), David Degen (BSC Young Boys), Blerim Džemaili (SSC Napoli), Gelson Fernandes (Liecester City FC), Fabian Frei (FC Basel 1893), Gökhan Inler (SSC Napoli), Xherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel 1893), Granit Xhaka (FC Basel 1893).
Forwards: Eren Derdiyok (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Innocent Emeghara (FC Lorient), Admir Mehmedi (FC Zürich).
Bulgaria (5 pts)
Interim coach Mihail Madanski has left out Bolton Wanderers FC winger Martin Petrov, while recalling several players who did not feature under his predecessor Lothar Matthäus. Back in the squad are strikers Valeri Bojinov of Sporting Clube de Portugal and Valeri Domovchiyski of MSV Duisburg. Madanski, the nation's under-21 coach, will take charge of the team for the Ukraine friendly on 7 October and the final Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales in Sofia on 11 October, and has included several of his under-21 team in the senior squad, including Georgi Milanov, Alexander Tsvetkov, Alexander Tonev and Georgi Terziev.
Goalkeepers: Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente), Vladislav Stoyanov (FC Sheriff).
Defenders: Ivan Bandalovski (PFC CSKA Sofia), Stanislav Manolev (PSV Eindhoven), Ivan Ivanov (FK Partizan), Kostadin Stoyanov (PFC CSKA Sofia), Plamen Krachunov (PFC CSKA Sofia), Georgi Terziev (PSFC Chernomorets Burgas), Petar Zanev (PFC Litex Lovech).
Midfielders: Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa FC), Georgi Sarmov (Kasımpaşa SK), Blagoy Georgiev (FC Terek Grozny), Vladimir Gadzhev (PFC Levski Sofia), Georgi Milanov (PFC Litex Lovech), Alexander Tsvetkov (PFC Litex Lovech), Mihail Alexandrov (PFC Ludogorets Razgrad), Hristo Zlatinski (PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1936).
Forwards: Spas Delev (PFC CSKA Sofia), Ivelin Popov (Gaziantepspor), Valeri Domovchiyski (MSV Duisburg), Dimitar Rangelov (FC Energie Cottbus, Germany), Valeri Bojinov (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Alexander Tonev (KKS Lech Poznań).
Wales (3 pts)
Wales will be without Robert Earnshaw and Danny Gabbidon for their final qualifiers at home to Switzerland and away to Bulgaria. Earnshaw injured a thigh playing for Cardiff City FC on 25 September while Gabbidon has been out since damaging a knee in Queens Park Rangers FC's win at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC on 17 September. Gary Speed had called midfielder David Edwards into his squad after back trouble and Craig Bellamy and David Vaughan are available again after missing last month's defeat by England.
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Boaz Myhill (West Bromwich Albion FC).
Defenders: Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest FC), Ashley Williams (Swansea City FC), James Collins (Aston Villa FC), Danny Collins (Stoke City FC), Darcy Blake (Cardiff City FC), Adam Matthews (Celtic FC), Neil Taylor (Swansea City FC).
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Swansea City FC), Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Jack Collison (West Ham United FC), Andrew Crofts (Norwich City FC), David Edwards (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Andy King (Leicester City FC), Joe Ledley (Celtic FC), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal FC), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading FC), David Vaughan (Sunderland FC).
Forwards: Craig Bellamy (Liverpool FC), Simon Church (Reading FC), Steve Morison (Norwich City FC), Sam Vokes (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC).