Italy boss Luigi Di Biagio defends Mario Balotelli omission

Italy interim manager Luigi Di Biagio has defended his decision to omit Nice striker Mario Balotelli from his squad.

The former Roma midfielder admitted that the forward is in good goalscoring form, but stood by his choice to give less established internationals a chance in recent friendlies. "I know all of Mario's goals, having watched 15 games in their entirety with him on the pitch this season. He is playing well, but I made 360-degree assessments," Di Biagio told Premium Sport. "A player must be assessed for their performa