Final Squad

Striker Cacau dropped from Germany Euro squad

Frankfurt: Brazil-born striker Cacau was dropped from Germany's squad for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine on Monday.

Cacau struggled in his Bundesliga club Stuttgart and was mostly coming off the bench during the season. He was in the Germany squad at the World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

"It was my great goal to be able to play at the Europeans after being at the World Cup," Cacau said. "It was clear to me from the start that the competition for the 23 slots was going to be very close. I did my best. I am disappointed but I still feel a member of the team and I wish them to play a great tournament."

His absence means Germany travel to the tournament with only two strikers, Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose. But coach Joachim Loew usually uses only one striker and has several midfielders who can play in an attacking role, including Thomas Mueller, Lucas Podolski, Andre Schuerrle and Marco Reus....more    

Under-investigation Criscito leaves Italy squad

Florence, Italy: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has trimmed his provisional squad for the European Championship to 25 players. Prandelli will cut another two before submitting his final 23-man list to UEFA by mid-day local time on Tuesday. Zenit St. Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito was left out after he was placed under investigation for possible match-fixing during his time at Genoa. Emiliano Viviano, Davide Astori, Salvatore Bocchetti, Luca Cigarini, Ezequiel Schelotto...  

Greece drop Tziolis, Kone from Euro 2012 squad

Athens: Greece coach Fernando Santos dropped midfielders Alexandros Tziolis and Panagiotis Kone from his final 23-player squad for the European Championship on Monday. Santos announced the move after both players had competed in a warm-up game against Slovenia on Saturday. The match ended in a 1-1 draw and was held in Kufstein, Austria, near Greece's pre-tournament training camp. Kone, who plays for Bologna, had been widely expected to be cut...  

Willems, Narsingh make Netherlands' Euro cut

Amsterdam: Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk on Saturday included 18-year-old defender Jetro Willems and winger Luciano Narsingh in his final 23-man European Championship squad that has a wealth of attacking options but could be frail in defence. The squad includes the topscorer from the English Premier League, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, and the German Bundesliga in Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Schalke. Van Persie will be hoping to carry his league...  

Borussia Dortmund trio lead Poland Euro squad

Warsaw: The Borussia Dortmund trio of Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek lead the European Championship squad for co-hosts Poland. Coach Franciszek Smuda on Sunday also named Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to his final 23-man roster for the competition, which starts from June 8 in Warsaw with Poland taking on Greece. Lewandowski, who scored 22 goals for German champions Dortmund, will spearhead Poland's attack. Smuda had few obvious choices...  

Negredo in Spain's Euro squad, Soldado ignored

Schruns (Austria): Striker Roberto Soldado was left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2012 on Sunday, despite his scoring exploits this year, as coach Vicente del Bosque lamented the absence of "irreplaceable" David Villa. There were no major surprises as Del Bosque discarded the younger players who have been part of the world and European champions' provisional squad at a training camp in the Austrian Alps. Instead, he included 19...  

Newcomer Nababkin in Russia squad for Euro 2012

Moscow: CSKA Moscow defender Kirill Nababkin was picked for the first time while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Magomed Ozdoyev and Spartak Moscow striker Artem Dzyuba were dropped for Russia's final squad for the European Championship on Friday. The 23-man squad was announced by coach Dick Advocaat for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine after Russia held Uruguay to a 1-1 draw in their first of three warm-ups. "The reason I've called...