International squads

Iñaki Sáez named his 18 man squad for the Euro 2004 qualifying match against Armenia. Contrary to expectations there is no place for on-form Fernando Morientes, but Deportivo's Luque does get a recall. Spain need to win and hope that Greece slip up against Northern Ireland to qualify automatically, otherwise they will have to play another qualifying round in November. The full squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Casillas (Real Madrid), Cañizares (Valencia)
Defenders: Puyol (Barcelona), Juanito (Betis), Helguera and Michel Salgado (Real Madrid), Marchena (Valencia)
Midfielders: Etxeberría (Athletic Bilbao), Joaquín (Betis), Valerón (Deportivo), Xabi Alonso (Real Sociedad), Albelda, Baraja and Vicente (Valencia)
Forwards: Fernando Torres (Atlético Madrid), Luque (Deportivo), Raúl (Real Madrid) and Reyes (Sevilla).

The under 21 side are already sure of a place in the next round of their European competition, and the managers have taken advantage to bring in a few new faces for the last group match against Armenia. Seven of the side who started the game against Ukraine are rested, including Pablo, Arteta, Riera and Portillo, and there will be new caps at this level for Marc Bertán and Nano. The full call up is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Víctor Valdés (Barcelona), Reina (Villarreal)
Defenders: Dani Tortolero (Elche), Marc Bertán, David García and Jarque (Espanyol), Antonio López (Osasuna)
Midfielders: Parri (Albacete), Arriaga (Athletic Bilbao), Jorge (Atlético), Iniesta (Barcelona), Borja (Real Madrid), Valdo (Osasuna), Corona (Zaragoza)
Forwards: Nano (Atlético Madrid), Rubén Castro (Las Palmas), David Villa (Zaragoza).

The full side will kick off in Erevan, Armenia on Saturday 11th October at 21:00 local time (3 hours after CET), with the under 21 team playing the evening before. (02.10.03)