Football
Balotelli dropped by Italy boss Mancini
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,National Daily learnt.
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.
Alessio Cragno, Daniele Rugani and Nicolo Zaniolo have also been left out of Italy’s squad for the Nations League clash in Lisbon.
-
Crime6 days agoInside Nigeria’s latest killing fields
-
Football5 days agoFull list: Six countries already qualified for 2030 FIFA World Cup
-
Football1 week agoMessi suffers 13th major final defeat as Spain end Argentina’s World Cup title defence
-
Business4 days agoScarcity; Dangote triggers further hike in fuel price
-
Aviation5 days agoNCAA threatens to suspend Royal Air Maroc operations over alleged passenger rights violations
-
Aviation5 days agoUK updates customs rules, lists duty-free allowances and prohibited items for travellers
-
Comments and Issues5 days agoYayi and the burden of stewardship
-
Latest2 days agoAccountability group questions ₦962.8bn Allocation for empowerment projects, official vehicles in 2026 budget