Mario Balotelli Misses Out on Italy’s Squad for Crucial World Cup Playoffs

• Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been excluded from Roberto Mancini's 33-man squad for the World Cup playoffs
• The European champions are gunning for the last attempt of qualifying to the global showpiece through the playoffs after missing out on automatic qualification
• The Azzurri would have to defeat North Macedonia in the semifinals of the playoffs before squaring off against either Portugal or Turkey

Manager of the Italian men's national team, Roberto Mancini has omitted striker Mario Balotelli from his list to fight for the World Cup slot.

Balotelli earlier returned to the national team after a four-year absence when Mancini named the maverick striker for three-day camping as the European champions prepared for the final hurdle in the World Cup qualifiers.

However, it appears the former Inter Milan and Manchester City manager was not impressed with the 31-year-old forward snubbing him in his final squad for the all-important assignment.

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Balotelli, who has mustered 11 goals with six assists across all competitions for Adana Demirspor, will be disappointed to have been left out of the squad.

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The reigning European champions bulked at the chance of securing automatic qualification to Qatar after a run of abysmal results ensured Switzerland snatched the automatic spot ahead of the Azzurri.

The four-time World champions will first play against North Macedonia at the Renzo Barbera Stadium in Palermo on Thursday 24 March and, if successful, will cross swords with the winner of Portugal vs Turkey tie on Tuesday 29 March.

Below is Italy's 33-man squad for the World Cup play-offs

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Pierluigi Gollini (Tottenham), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), Alessandro Florenzi (AC Milan) , Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma);

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Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Sampdoria), Sandro Tonali (AC Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Joao Pedro (Cagliari), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo) Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma).

Balotelli rues golden advice given to him by Samuel Eto'o

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Mario Balotelli believes he would have won two Golden Balls if he had listened to advice from former Inter Milan teammate Samuel Eto'o.

The 31-year-old seems to have rediscovered the form that once made him the most talked-about forward after moving to the Turkish Super Lig.

In an interview with The Athletic, Balotelli was candid and revealing as he reflected on some of the decisions that affected his career.