Belfast, Ireland (Best E Casino) - Northern Ireland will be without defender Chris Baird and defender Philip Mulryne for two World Cup qualifiers.

Northern Ireland begins its quest to Germany with a match Saturday against Poland. They then play again on Wednesday at Wales.

Baird, who plays for English Premiership side Southampton, was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury. Mulryne, who is also in England and plays for Norwich City, will miss out because of a groin injury.

The Northern Ireland roster is:

GOALKEEPERS:

Maik Taylor (Birmingham City)

Roy Carroll (Manchester United)

DEFENDERS:

Colin Murdock (Hibernian)

Aaron Hughes (Newcastle United)

Stephen Craigan (Motherwell)

Mark Williams (Milton Keynes Dons)

Tony Capaldi (Plymouth Argyle)

Mark Clyde (Wolves)

George McCartney (Sunderland)

MIDFIELDERS:

Keith Gillespie (Leicester City)

Michael Hughes (Crystal Palace)

Damien Johnson (Birmingham City)

Danny Sonner (Peterborough United)

Jeff Whitley (Sunderland)

FORWARDS:

Stuart Elliott (Hull City)

David Healy (Preston North End)

Andrew Smith (Preston North End)

Gary Hamilton (Portadown)

Paul McVeigh (Norwich City)

Steve Jones (Crewe Alexandra)

James Quinn (Willem II)