Spain National Football Team head coach Vicente Del Bosque announced his match squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Group 5 opponents Turkey. Despite rumours to the contrary, Del Bosque has called-up Fenerbahçe striker Dani Güiza for the two fixtures to be played on March 28th in Madrid, and April 1st in Istanbul.

Despite rumours in the Spanish press that Spain head coach Vicente Del Bosque would call-up Raul Gonzalez of Real Madrid instead of Fenerbahçe's Daniel Güiza, the experienced coach has re-called the Yellow Canaries striker for national duty.

Güiza was included in Del Bosque's match squad, announced on Friday, for the two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Group 5 opponents Turkey. While the first match is to be played next Saturday on March 28th in Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the second fixture will take place at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul on Wednesday, April 1st.

The 22-man match roster for the Spain National Football Team is as follows: Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Jose Manuel Reina & Diego Lopez.
Defenders: Carlos Marchena, Juanito Gutierrez, Sergio Ramos, Joan Capdevilla, Gerard Pique, Raul Albiol & Alvaro Arbeloa.
Midfielders: Xavi Hernandez, Santi Cazorla, Sergi Busquets, David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Albert Riera, Xabi Alonso & Marcos Senna.
Forwards: Daniel Güiza, Fernando Llorente, Fernando Torres & David Villa.

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Fenerbahçe is back in action this evening, playing their second consecutive Friday night game. They're hoping to improve after last week's disappointing result against Kocaelispor, but they'll face tough opposition in the renewed Green Crocs. Fener and Bursaspor kickoff at 20:00 (2 PM EST in the U.S.; 6 PM in the U.K.) from Bursa Atatürk Stadium.

Fenerbahçe entered last Friday's match with a ton of momentum. With wins over Kayserispor and two victories over Sivasspor recently, last weekend's contest seemed easy with lowly Kocaelispor on the schedule. Roberto Carlos scored just two minutes in to give the Canaries the early lead, but Julio Cesar Mendes equalized with just three minutes remaining in regulation to give Kocaeli the 1-1 draw in Istanbul. It was a blown opportunity that could have seen the Canaries move into first place in the standings.

Fener's competition in week 25 will get even tougher. Bursaspor sit seventh in the standings, but the Green Crocs are much-improved in recent weeks. They've lost only one match since Ertuğrul Sağlam took over, and the home side will have their fans' backing Friday night. Sağlam knows that a win this weekend would go a long way in helping his team gain momentum.

"This is an important game," said Sağlam. "Fenerbahçe wants to keep pace with the top, and we want to get the fifth spot." If the Crocs are going to pull off the upset, they're going to have to make major changes from their previous meetings this year. Fener and Bursa have already met three times this season with the Canaries winning all three.

The teams last met a month and a half ago in Bursa. Alex de Souza scored twice to lead the Canaries to the 3-1 victory, but the Fenerbahçe veteran will miss Friday's match with an injury. It's an opportunity that Ertuğrul Sağlam hopes to take advantage of. "Alex is an important member of the Fenerbahçe squad, especially in offense," Sağlam said. "It looks like a good thing for us, but of course the player who will take his position will try to do his best to prove himself."

Fener will get a boost in goal Friday night. Volkan Demirel returns to the lineup after a one game absence for his role in a confrontation during the Kayserispor match. The goalkeeper was originally suspended for two games, but the Turkish Football Disciplinary Committee reduced his suspension to just one game, which he served last week against Kocaelispor. Demirel is expected to start in goal Friday night against Bursaspor. In addition to Alex, Fener could be without playmaker Deivid de Souza who is also recovering from injury. Coach Luis Aragones did include Deivid in the match roster for Friday night, however.

Bursaspor has been inconsistent at home this season. They've won five matches and lost only two, but they've drawn with their opponents five times at Atatürk Stadium. Fener hasn't fared much better away from home. They have four wins on the road this season, with five losses and two draws.

One variable heading into Friday night's match is security. Bursaspor fans have shown a tendency to be a bit violent, especially in a loss to the Canaries. As a result, 1,400 police officers will be on duty for the match Friday. Additionally, at least 18 hooligans have been banned from attending the match. There will be a large contingency of yellow and navy-clad fans in addition to Green Crocs' supporters in Bursa.

Fener and Bursaspor kickoff Friday night at 20:00 (2 PM EST in the U.S.; 6 PM in the U.K) from Bursa. Halis Özkahya will be the referee for this weekend's contest. Fans can watch the game live on Lig TV, as well as online at www.digiturkwebtv.com.

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Fenerbahçe arrived in Bursa earlier this afternoon, just one day ahead of their Turkcell Süper Lig clash with Bursaspor. The Yellow Canaries take on the Green Crocs Friday night in Bursa. Coach Luis Aragones included a few surprises on his 20-man roster for Friday's match.

The team arrived late Thursday afternoon by ferry boat in Bursa. As usual, the team was greeted with a throng of fans and flowers upon their arrival. Coach Luis Aragones was able to include goalkeeper Volkan Demirel in his roster after the PFDK cleared the keeper to play late Thursday. The 20-man roster for Friday's match is as follows:

Volkan Demirel, Volkan Babacan, Gökhan Gönül, Gökhan Emreciksin, Ali Bilgin, Diego Lugano, Edu Dracena, Önder Turacı, Roberto Carlos, Gökçek Vederson, Selçuk Şahin, Deniz Barış, Emre Belözoğlu, Deivid de Souza, Uğur Boral, Gürhan Gürsoy, Semih Şentürk, Dani Güiza, Mert Günok, İlhan Parlak.

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Fenerbahçe got a boost of good news before their clash with Bursa on Friday. Turkish football's Professional Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) decided Thursday to reduce Volkan Demirel's ban from two games down to just one. The decision means the goalkeeper will likely start Friday night against Bursaspor.

Demirel was suspended for two games following his actions against Kayserispor. The keeper received a red card in that match and was ultimately suspended for a second match.

Fenerbahçe appealed the decision and the PFDK issued a statement late Thursday saying they had accepted the club's appeal. The statement said that after watching images of the incident and learning more about the events that unfolded, the committee found it fair to reduce the penalty to just one match.

The decision means that Demirel will likely start in goal tomorrow night against Bursaspor. He was replaced last week by backup keeper Volkan Babacan.

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Canaries' striker Dani Güiza says despite his struggles this season, he's happy with Fenerbahçe. The former Mallorca star told reporters this week that he has no plans to leave the club, and he's even content if he's replaced on the Spanish National Team...for now.

Dani Güiza hasn't quite lived up to the hype this season with Fenerbahçe. After leading Spain's La Liga in scoring last season with Mallorca, Güiza has scored only seven times with the Canaries this season. His struggles have his spot on the Spanish National Team in jeopardy, but Güiza says that's ok with him for now.

“If I find out on Friday that I have not made the squad, then the only thing I can do is to continue working and wait for the next opportunity,” he said in an interview with Spanish media outlet Marca. The striker is referring to his country's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches with Türkiye. Spain will face the Turks next weekend and again on April 1st.

“It would be hard to take because I’ve already been in the squad so many times. I’ve been a champion with them, I have not yet suffered a defeat, and because it’s a big and close-knit group. It will be hard not to be with my teammates," he said.

“But if Raul is chosen to take over my spot, then he deserves it," he said. "He has achieved many things with Real Madrid and with Spain and if (Vicente) del Bosque considers it fit to call him up, then it's ok with me," Güiza said. “If Raul is better than me or the other forwards, then the coach has to take him.”

The former Mallorca forward also said he is still perfectly happy in Istanbul despite his struggles this season. “I still have four more years in my contract and I would like to fulfill it,” he declared. “I will be thrilled to return to Spain one day, but for now, I am happy here.”

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Fenerbahçe star Roberto Carlos is still a player in demand. Despite being well into his mid-thirties, the legendary defender left the door open earlier this week for a possible return to Real Madrid. Despite the reports out of Spain, the Brazilian back told reporters on Wednesday that he's "more than happy" in Istanbul.

Reports from Spain's Cope Radio earlier this week indicated that Fener star Roberto Carlos could move back to Real Madrid if President Florentino Perez is re-elected this summer. Carlos didn't deny the possibility, but he told reporters on Wednesday that he has no plans to leave the Canaries.

"It has been rumoured that I was going to leave Fener for Real Madrid earlier this week. I want to underline the fact that I'm more than happy to be a Fenerbahçe player," Carlos said in Istanbul Wednesday.

"Florentino Perez told that he wants to bring me back to Real Madrid if he is elected. I played in Madrid for fifteen years and that period of my life is over," Carlos said. "I am very happy in Istanbul and I never think about leaving Fenerbahçe. If I have to leave the club, I will only go back to Brazil, but my wish is to stay here," he told reporters.

Carlos also talked about the team's performance as the season winds down. "We're entering the home strech of the league now with only ten or eleven games left. It's going to be obvious what it takes to win the championship. We feel like we're preparing for that and we'll be happy in the end," he said.

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Fenerbahçe was on the training pitch again Tuesday to work toward this weekend's Turkcell Süper Lig contest against Bursaspor. The Canaries take on the Green Crocs Friday night in Bursa, but Fener could be without two key players in week 25.

The team met Tuesday morning at 11:00 local time and practiced for just under an hour and a half at the Samandıra Training Facilities. After Coach Aragones held a brief meeting at midfield, Carlos Cascallana led the team in warmups. Following warmups, the team was divided into two squads to work on Friday's gameplan with an emphasis on attacking and defending. The two squads rotated and Tuesday's training session ended with some stretching.

Alex de Souza did not train with the team on Tuesday and is still recovering from injury. Gökhan Gönül joined the team early on, but left during today's session after experiencing pain in his right ankle. The team will practice again at 11:00 local time Wednesday morning.

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