Soccer-Teenager Ninis left out by Greece for Hungary friendly

By Barney Spender

ATHENS, May 20 (Reuters) - Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has left teenage midfielder Sotiris Ninis out of his 24-man squad to play Hungary in Saturday's Budapest friendly, the Greek FA said.

The 18-year-old became the country's youngest scorer on Monday with the opener against Cyprus after five minutes of his debut before being substituted at halftime in the 2-0 win.

However, with a number of regulars returning to the squad after missing the Cyprus game through club commitments, Ninis has returned to the sidelines.

His absence from the squad announced on Tuesday means he is only likely to be called up for Euro 2008 if the European champions suffer an injury ahead of the June tournament.

AEK Athens central defender Socratis Papastathopoulos has retained his place in the squad and has a final chance to nail down a place in the final 23.

Rehhagel is expected to announce his Euro 2008 squad shortly after the match in Hungary because the team will then leave for a pre-tournament training camp in Germany from May 25-June 1.

Squad: