Mario Balotelli called by Italy
Inter’s teenage star Mario Balotelli has received his first Italian call-up as he is included in Pierluigi Casiraghi’s Under-21 squad.
Balotelli officially became an Italian citizen on August 12 when he turned 18 and he had hoped to be called up for the Azzurri’s friendly against Austria.
But the former Lumezzane marksman has had to settle for selection in Casiraghi’s squad to face Greece and Croatia in European Championship qualifiers.
Casiraghi is trying to get back on track after the disappointment of the Olympic Games where Italy were knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals.
The other new faces in the Azzurrini squad are Roma centre-back Marco Andreolli and young Fiorentina goalkeeper Andrea Seculin.
The group will meet at the Hilton Hotel near Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on Tuesday September 2 before travelling to their camp in Castel Di Sangro.
They face Greece on September 5 there before travelling to Croatia on September 9. (c4)
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