Fuente : UEFA (English)
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FIFA World Cup: Valdés set for Spanish selection

/noticias.info/ With six FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and a host of friendlies taking place on Wednesday, uefa.com rounds up the latest news from the teams in action.

Spain have handed FC Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés his first international call-up for the friendly against Uruguay after Real Madrid CF's Iker Casillas withdrew with a thigh injury. The 23-year-old Valdés will compete for a place with Liverpool FC's José Manuel Reina, another yet to make his debut.

Matteo Guardalben of US Città di Palermo has been called up by Italy to replace injured No1 Gianluigi Buffon for the friendly in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland. The uncapped 31-year-old joins goalkeepers Morgan De Sanctis and Flavio Roma in Marcello Lippi's squad. The Irish, meanwhile, will be without Robbie Keane after the striker failed to recover from an ankle injury.

Turkey midfielder Bülent Korkmaz will end his international career after the Sofia friendly against Bulgaria. Bülent, who will captain the side, has been capped 101 times by his country, scoring three goals, and was part of the squad that reached the 2002 World Cup finals.

Midfielder Custódio has dropped out of Portugal's squad for Wednesday's friendly against Egypt after suffering a knee injury in training on Saturday. There was some good news for coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, however, with confirmation that Cristiano Ronaldo and Pauleta should be available after shaking off minor knocks.

Slovakia coach Dušan Galis has called FC Artmedia Bratislava forward Ján Ďurica and defender Andrej Porázik of Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski into his squad for the Group 3 qualifier against Liechtenstein following the withdrawals of defender Stanislav Varga and forward Szilárd Németh through injury.

In Group 1, Finland will be missing Charlton Athletic FC forward Jonatan Johansson and PSV Eindhoven midfielder Mika Väyrynen for their encounter with F.Y.R. Macedonia. Both have minor calf injuries and have been replaced in coach Jyrki Heliskoski's squad by KV Cercle Brugge striker Paulus Roiha and Myllykosken Pallo-47 midfielder Tuomas Haapala.

West Ham United FC playmaker Yossi Benayoun has pulled out of the Israel squad to face Ukraine in Kiev today in the Valeriy Lobanovskiy tournament. The 25-year-old enjoyed a successful Premiership debut against Blackburn Rovers FC on Saturday and his request to remain with the side has been accepted by Israel coach Avraham Grant.

The winners of the match between Ukraine and Israel could meet Poland in the final, should Pawel Janas's team overcome Serbia and Montenegro this evening. Janas has called up both Celtic FC's new signing Artur Boruc and the uncapped Sebastian Przyrowski of Groclin with regular No1 Jerzy Dudek out with a shoulder injury.

The Czech Republic have been deprived of playmaker Tomáš Rosický's services for the friendly against Sweden. The 24-year-old has a leg problem. With newcomer Tomáš Sivok suffering a similar injury, coach Karel Brückner has turned to AC Sparta Praha team-mates Zdeněk Pospěch and Lukáš Zelenka.

Manchester United FC winger Ryan Giggs failed to link up with the Wales party for their home friendly against Slovenia because of a persistent chest infection. Also absent are injured defenders James Collins and Mark Delaney.

Finally, Wigan Athletic FC's Lee McCulloch, has been forced to withdraw from Scotland's squad for the friendly against Austria after sustaining a knock against Chelsea FC. Heart of Midlothian FC midfielder Paul Hartley was also injured in his club's win against Dundee United FC so Walter Smith with travel to Vienna with an 18-man squad. notas_de_prensa_archivo