Italy's Mario Balotelli has been ruled out of this week's friendly international against England due to an eye infection. The Manchester City striker, one of the stars of Italy's run to the final of UEFA EURO 2012, has been released by coach Cesare Prandelli after coming down with conjunctivitis. The 22-year-old has been replaced in the squad for Wednesday's match in Berne by Udinese front man Diego Fabbrini. Prandelli told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "We were hoping [Balotelli] would recover in time, but it wasn't to be. I want to give him a key role in the long term and I expect him to accept responsibility when I do." With Fabbrini called into the squad as Balotelli's replacement, Prandelli's available front-men are all aged 22 or younger. "We must raise the bar by enriching an already quality pool of players," the coach went on. "I want players with different characteristics who we can assess with the future in mind." The former Fiorentina boss revealed his experimental Azzurri squad was selected with qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil firmly in mind. "The plan is to prepare for the next two years, starting from now, by working out which young players are ready to make the grade," he added. "That is the challenge against England on Wednesday night and it is an important one. I can see the desire to get off to a good start in many of my players' eyes." From : Fifa
GMT 18:30 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
FIFA trial: New York jury acquits former Peru soccer bossGMT 13:18 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
Early drama as Sydney to Hobart fleet race to break recordGMT 20:25 2017 Monday ,25 December
Klopp urges Liverpool to focus on Euro ambitionsGMT 18:35 2017 Monday ,25 December
Mutko suspends Russian football role to fight Olympic lifetime banGMT 10:11 2017 Monday ,25 December
Federer, Nadal shine as rivals hobble into 2018GMT 19:22 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Southampton's Austin charged with violent conductGMT 18:02 2017 Sunday ,24 December
'Tongan Bear' Uhila extends Clermont contractGMT 17:07 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Serena Williams to make competitive return in Abu Dhabi next week
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor