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By Barney Spender
ATHENS, May 16 (Reuters) - Coach Otto Rehhagel has named a largely experimental 17-man squad for Greece's Euro 2008 warm-up friendly against Cyprus in Patras on Monday.
With a number of players still unavailable because of outstanding club commitments, Rehhagel has taken the chance for a look at some of the younger players in Greek football, including 18-year-old midfielder Sotiris Ninis.
Ninis made his Panathinaikos debut aged 16 and impressed early on before injuries restricted his opportunities. Now fully fit again, he is seen as one of the bright hopes for the future of Greek football.
"It's a dream come true and an extra motivation to work even harder and improve myself. I'm very happy," Ninis told uefa.com.
Panionios midfielder Grigorios Makos and PAOK Salonika striker Lazaros Christodoulopoulos have also been called into the squad for the first time.
The European champions also face Hungary in a warm-up in Budapest on May 24 before heading to Salzburg for the start of the defence of their title in the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. They face Russia, Spain and Sweden in Group D.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (Aris Salonika), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete)
Defenders: Nikos Spyropoulos, Loukas Vintra, Ioannis Goumas (all Panathinaikos) Traianos Dellas, Socratis Papastathopoulos (both AEK Athens), Christos Melissis (PAOK Salonika)
Midfielders: Georgios Karagounis, Alexandros Tziolis, Sotiris Ninis (all Panathinaikos), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers), Costas Katsouranis (Benfica), Grigorios Makos (Panionios GSS)
Forwards: Dimitris Salpigidis (Panathinaikos), Nikos Liberopoulos (AEK Athens), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (PAOK)
