Squads round-up: Dellas recalled
ATHENS, Greece -- Roma central defender Traianos Dellas has been recalled to the Greece squad for their World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on October 9.
Dellas, who missed the European champions' defeat in Albania and the home draw against Turkey because of injury, replaces Nikos Dabizas.
PAOK Salonika striker Dimitris Salpingidis has also been left out of a squad that is comprised entirely of players from the Euro 2004 squad.
Midfielder Vassilis Tsartas remains in the set-up in spite of not having joined a club since leaving AEK Athens after Euro 2004.
Kuqi replaces Forssell
Meanwhile, Finland have called up Ipswich's Shefki Kuqi for the two World Cup Group One qualifiers this month, as they seek to overcome the loss of injured striker Mikael Forssell.
Forssell, who has scored 12 goals in 31 internationals, could be out of action for around six months after undergoing surgery last week, a potentially huge blow to Finland's slim chances of qualifying.
Kuqi was part of a 20-man squad named by coach Antti Muurinen for Finland's home game in Tampere against Armenia on October 9 and away match against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on October 13.
Kuqi has five goals in eight matches for English club Ipswich this season but has struggled on the international stage with only three goals in 34 matches.
Finland's hopes also lie with 21-year-old midfielder Aleksei Eremenko of Lecce, who netted three times in World Cup qualifying wins over Andorra and Armenia.
Russians drop pair
Experienced playmaker Dmitry Loskov and defender Roman Sharonov have been dropped from Russia's squad for this month's World Cup Group Three qualifiers away to Luxembourg and Portugal.
Russia coach Georgy Yartsev also included one newcomer, Kuban Krasnodar midfielder Lyubomir Kantonistov, when he named his 22-man squad.
Four CSKA Moscow players, striker Dmitry Kirichenko, defender Sergei Ignashevich and midfielders Rolan Gusev and Yevgeny Aldonin were included following CSKA's impressive 2-0 win over Paris St Germain in the Champions League.
Both Lokomotiv captain Loskov and Rubin Kazan defender Sharonov have been struggling recently and were left out the squad, while in-form Zenit St Petersburg striker Andrei Arshavin was also recalled after a long absence.
Russia opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with a lacklustre 1-1 home draw with Slovakia on September 4.
The Russians, who had a disappointing Euro 2004 in Portugal, face Luxembourg on October 9 before travelling to Lisbon to take on the Portuguese four days later.
Couto left out
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has dropped defender Fernando Couto from the squad for the World Cup European Group Three qualifiers against Liechtenstein in Vaduz on October 9 and Russia.
The veteran Lazio player was the only survivor of his "golden generation" which included Rui Costa and Luis Figo.
Scolari included one newcomer -- defender Jorge Ribeiro, who is a brother of Porto midfielder Maniche Ribeiro. Ribeiro gets his chance because of an injury to Porto's Nuno Valente.
Benfica striker Nuno Gomes returns after missing the first two qualifiers due to injury. Portugal, losing finalists at Euro 2004, won the opening qualifiers, against Latvia and Estonia.
Mpenza exile continues
Belgium coach Aime Anthuenis' stand-off with Emile Mpenza has continued after the Hamburg striker was left out of the squad for next week's World Cup Group Seven qualifier against Spain.
Anthuenis included 18-year-old Ajax left winger Tom Demul for the first time and recalled midfielder Stefaan Tanghe, defender Joos Valgaeren and striker Stein Huysegems to the squad for the October 9 match in Santander.
However, despite hopes that Mpenza would end his seven-month exile from the national squad, it seems he has yet to change his mind about playing for Belgium.
The striker, who has played 43 internationals scoring 14 goals, asked last April to be left out of the squad for an indefinite period -- a request to which Anthuenis responded by saying he alone would decide if the striker was needed.
Macedonia keeper absent
Macedonia will be without injured goalkeeper Petar Milosevski and suspended midfielder Velice Sumolikovski for their World Cup Group One qualifiers against Netherlands and Andorra later this month.
Macedonia coach Dragan Kanatlarovski, who named his 20-man squad on Friday, said Milosevski would be out for a month after suffering a right ankle injury and would be replaced by Jane Nikoloski.
Sumolikovski is banned for four matches after he was dismissed in the qualifier against Romania last month and has been replaced by Stojance Ignatov.
"This is a serious problem for us as I will have to do without two players who are very important for our team," said Kanatlarovski.
Macedonia, who have had a win over Armenia and a loss to Romania in their first two matches, host the Netherlands on October 9 and visit Andorra four days later.
Montero injured
Uruguay captain Paolo Montero is to miss this month's World Cup qualifiers because of an Achilles tendon injury.
The decision was taken jointly by Montero, who has not played since the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador on September 5, doctors and coach Jorge Fossati.
Montero, 33, made his Uruguay comeback in July at the Copa America in Peru, two years after announcing he was quitting internationals.
His return has seen a revival for the team who lost their previous three World Cup qualifiers and shipped eleven goals in the process.
The news came as problems mounted for Fossati ahead of the games away to Argentina on October 9 and Bolivia three days later.
Two of Fossati's key defenders are short of match practice. Dario Rodriguez is in the reserves at Germany's Schalke and Alejandro Lembo has been relegated to the substitutes' bench at Spanish club Betis.
Uruguay are seventh in the 10-nation South American qualifying group with 10 points from eight games.
