Turkey coach Fatih Terim yesterday axed striker Halil Altintop, midfielder Yildiray Basturk and defender Ibrahim Kas from his Euro 2008 squad.
Terim announced his final 23-man squad at a news conference in Bielefeld, Germany, where the team has been training since May 17.
Terim was forced to add defender Emre Gungor to his original 26-man squad as a possible replacement for Servet Cetin who is recovering from an injury.
At the weekend, he removed Gokhan Gonul from the squad after the defender developed an edema in his right foot.
Turkey squad:
Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor)
Defenders: Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce), Sabri Sarioglu, Servet Cetin, Hakan Kadir Balta, Emre Gungor (Galatasaray), Gokhan Zan (Besiktas), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor)
Midfielders: Mehmet Aurelio, Kazim Kazim (Fenerbahce), Mehmet Topal, Ayhan Akman, Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle United/ENG), Tumer Metin (Larissa/GRE), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich/GER), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough/ENG)
Forwards: Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan/RUS), Nihat Kahveci (Villareal/ESP), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux/FRA)
■KEY SWISS STARS TO PLAY
AFP, GENEVA
Swiss coach Jakob “Kobi” Kuhn revealed on Wednesday that key players Patrick Muller and Tranquillo Barnetta will play in the Euro 2008 championships despite lingering injury worries.
Hertha Berlin defender Steve von Bergen was dropped however from the final list of 23 players after fracturing a bone in his hand during training last week.
Von Bergen has won three Swiss caps.
Fellow defender Mario Eggimann of Karlsruhe will also miss the finals along with FC Twenthe striker Blaise Nkufo.
In another change to the line-up, prospective goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti, who plays for Spanish side Racing Santander, has been replaced by Eldin Jakupovic of Grasshopper Zurich, the Swiss Football Association said in a statement.
Kuhn has stuck to his gamble of fielding Muller, who missed much of last season with French champions Lyon due to injury.
The experienced Muller has appeared for his country 76 times scoring three goals.
The 31-year-old dual Swiss-Austrian national played in last weekend’s friendly against Slovakia, that Switzerland won 2-0.
Switzerland, co-hosting the June 7 to June 29 finals with Austria, kick off the Euro 2008 championships in Basel on June 9 against the Czech Republic.
Switzerland squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg/GER); Eldin Jakupovic (Grasshopper Zurich/SUI); Pascal Zuberbuehler (Neuchatel Xamax/SUI)
Defenders: Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund/GER); Johan Djourou (Arsenal/ENG); Stephane Grichting (Auxerre/FRA); Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille/FRA); Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart/GER); Patrick Muller (Lyon/FRA); Philippe Senderos (Arsenal/ENG); Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER)
Midfielders and attackers: Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen/GER); Valon Behrami (Lazio/ITA); Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper Zurich/SUI); Eren Derdiyok (Basel/SUI); Gelson Fernandes (Man City/ENG); Alexander Frei (Borussia Dortmund/GER); Daniel Gygax (Metz/FRA); Benjamin Huggel (Basel/SUI); Goekhan Inler (Udinese/ITA); Marco Streller (Basel/SUI); Johan Vonlanthen (Red Bull Salzburg/AUS); Hakan Yakin (Young Boys Bern/SUI)
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