Balotelli dropped by Italy boss Mancini
Concerns over Mario Balotelli's fitness preceded him being left out of the Azzurri squad to face Portugal in the Nations League on Monday.
Mario Balotelli has been left out of Italy's 23-man squad to face Portugal following criticism of his performance in the Azzurri's 1-1 draw with Poland on Friday.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini admitted the Nice striker did not play well against Poland and said "his fitness levels are an issue right now" before omitting Balotelli from his squad for Monday's match.
Former Juventus and Roma player Zbigniew Boniek accused Balotelli of being "15 kilos overweight" after his performance against Poland, which ended when he was replaced by Andrea Belotti after 62 minutes at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
There is no place in Mancini's squad for Davide Zappacosta, Lorenzo Pellegrini or Cristiano Biraghi, all of whom started the game against Poland.
Estadio da Sport e - 20:45 CEST Confirmed squad numbers September 10, 2018
Alessio Cragno, Daniele Rugani and Nicolo Zaniolo have also been left out of Italy's squad for the Nations League clash in Lisbon.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw