Final Day Euro Roster Cuts

May 28th, 2008 | by: Ian Rose |

May 28th has come, and with it, the deadline for final roster announcements ahead of Euro 2008. The questions of who will stay and who will go are answered. Clue: the guy in the picture looks unhappy for a reason. Here are the highlights. I’ll add to the list as things develop today.

Group A: Turkey
Ibrahim Kas, Halil Altintop and Yildiray Basturk found themselves without a chair when the music stopped today. Kas is a bit of a surprise, considering his great season for Getafe, and the fact that fellow right back Gokham Gonul left the squad earlier with a knee injury.

Group A: Czech Republic
As our Czech Euro blogger says, no drastic changes here, but the final roster was announced today, not only for the Euros, but for the last tuneup match with my beloved Scotland as well.

Group B: Germany
Young talent was on the cutting room floor for the Germans, as Patrick Helmes, Jermaine Jones and Marko Marin found themselves out of the final roster. Marin seemed to be Joachim Loew’s golden boy, but at only 19, he’s got plenty of time to make his way onto the German side.

Group B: Poland
Roger Guereirro, who has been officially Polish for just over a month now, is on the final squad for Poland’s debut at the European Championships. The Brazilian-born winger comes in at the expense of fellow midfielder Radoslaw Majewski, and striker Radoslaw Matusiak is also out.

Group B: Austria
The happy hosts with their oh-so-supportive fans released their roster, which is available here on the Austria World Cup Blog.

Group C: France
Bafétimbi Gomis had made Raymond Domenech’s life much more difficult this week. Once a favorite for the cutting block ahead of today’s roster announcement, Gomis came out in his first cap yesterday against Ecuador and scored twice. The last time a Frenchman scored twice in his debut, they called him Zizou. Whether Gomis is the next Zidane is up for debate, but he’s on the squad, and he’s taking the place of none other than Djibril Cisse. Also missing are new Milan midfielder Mathieu Flamini and injured Roma defender Philipe Mexes.

Group C: Italy
The Don has spoken, and the unlucky winner of the last cut from the Euro 2008 Italy roster is Riccardo Montolivo. The Fiorentina midfielder will remain the first alternate if a player is injured before the start of the tournament, but for now Donadoni is sticking with all six of his original striker options, and only seven midfielders.

Group C: Netherlands
Marco van Basten finalized his roster with the axing of Sevilla defender Khalid Boulahrouz, going instead with Wigan’s Mario Melchiot.

Group C: Romania
Victor Piturca’s final squad is one striker lighter than it was yesterday, as Dinamo Bucharest forward Florin Bratu was sent packing today. This is going to be a controversial move, as Bratu is arguably the best of the young crop of Romanian strikers, and ended the season in good form for his club. The Tricolorii now have just four strike options left.