5 superstars omitted from their national teams for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers
We are just over a year away from experiencing the thrills and emotions associated with the extravaganza that is the FIFA World Cup. While most of us are still coming to terms with Gonzalo Higuain’s incredible misses and the agony experienced by Lionel Messi in the previous edition, the World Cup qualifiers are moving to the business end.
Managers are required to make tough decisions; sometimes they are deemed pragmatic, while others are downright illogical. With the squads for the World Cup qualifiers out, we bring to you a list of five stars who have been omitted from their respective squads for the games to come.
#1 Mario Balotelli
The career of the former Golden Boy of Italian football was believed to be over after his struggles at Liverpool, but Mario Balotelli has finally come good this season with the French club, Nice. The former Inter Milan striker has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and has established himself as a pivotal member of their title challenge.
A look at the other strikers who have been called up to the Italy team suggests that the Gian Piero Ventura led side could have benefitted from the services of “Super Mario”. Only Andre Belotti and Ciro Immobile have scored more goals in the current season than Balotelli and the 26-year-old, who was crucial to Italy reaching the UEFA Championships final in 2012, still has a lot to offer to the current squad.
While the manager’s persistence to bring in young strikers such as Belotti and Andrea Petagna is appreciable, the right mix of experience and youth is often the requisite balance to success. If Balotelli keeps scoring goals at a regular frequency, a return to the Azzurri squad is inevitable.