Monday May 15 2006 14:22
Serbia & Montenegro boss Ilija Petkovic has sprung a major surprise by naming uncapped midfielder Ivan Ergic in his squad for the World Cup finals.
The Australian-born 25-year-old has been in impressive form for Swiss Super League side Basel this season and will provide cover in the squad for foot injury victim Zvonimir Vukic.
Elsewhere the coach has stuck with the players who won their qualifying group ahead of Spain, but he admitted his side would face a genuine test to progress to the knockout stages of the finals.
"We first play two soccer giants, the Argentines and the Dutch," said Petkovic, whose team will also face Ivory Coast in Group C.
"Those games will show where we really stand. We can be outplayed, but we cannot be outwitted by any of our opponents."
Serbia & Montenegro squad:
Goalkeepers: Dragoslav Jevric (Anakaraspor), Oliver Kovacevic (CSKA Sofia), Vladimir Stojkovic (Nantes).
Defenders: Goran Gavrancic (Dynamo Kyiv), Ivica Dragutinovic (Sevilla), Mladen Krstajic (Schalke), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Milan Dudic (Red Star Belgrade), Nenad Djordjevic (Partizan Belgrade), Dusan Basta (Red Star Belgrade).
Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (Internazionale), Igor Duljaj (Shakhtar Donetsk), Predrag Djordjevic (Olympiakos), Ognjen Koroman (Portsmouth), Albert Nadj (Partizan Belgrade), Sasa Ilic (Galatasaray), Zvonimir Vukic (Partizan Belgrade), Ivan Ergic (Basel).
Forwards: Savo Milosevic (Osasuna), Mateja Kezman (Atletico Madrid), Nikola Zigic (Red Star Belgrade), Danijel Ljuboja (VFB Stuttgart), Mirko Vucinic (Lecce).
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