Russia recall Kerzhakov after suspension
MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russia coach Dick Advocaat has recalled in-form Zenit St Petersburg striker Alexander Kerzhakov for this month's Euro 2012 qualifiers in Ireland and Macedonia after he was suspended for their first two group games.
Kerzhakov, who missed the qualifiers against Andorra and Slovakia having been sent off in last year's World Cup play-off defeat by Slovenia, has been in great form, notching hat-tricks in domestic and European competition last month.
He struck a treble as 2008 UEFA Cup winners Zenit won 3-1 at Anderlecht in the Europa League and a week later repeated the feat in a 6-1 thrashing of Saturn Ramenskoye in a league game.
Advocaat also called up two newcomers, Spartak Moscow defender Sergei Parshyvlyuk and CSKA Moscow midfielder Pavel Mamayev, in his 21-man squad for the games against Ireland in Dublin next Friday and Macedonia in Skopje four days later.
However, the Dutchman dropped striker Dmitry Sychev and his Lokomotiv Moscow team mate, midfielder Dmitry Torbinsky, who have struggled to for form this season.
Russia, top seeds in Group B, trail Ireland and Slovakia by three points after suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat by the Slovaks in Moscow last month.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), Vladimir Gabulov (Dynamo Moscow)
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Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Vasily Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea), Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergei Parshyvlyuk (Spartak Moscow)
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Everton), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Vladimir Bystrov (Zenit St Petersburg), Igor Denisov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St Petersburg), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Pavel Mamayev (CSKA Moscow)
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham Hotspur), Pavel Pogrebnyak (VfB Stuttgart), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow).