Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli made it six goals in five games for his new club on the weekend, but despite his brilliant form, the striker has been snubbed for the latest Italy squad.
Read: Balotelli Makes It 6 Goals In 5 Games
The 26-year-old, who failed to impress at Anfield and AC Milan over the past two seasons, could not have dreamed of a better start at his new club, OGC Nice.
He was again the decisive man in Nice's 2-1 win over Lorient on Sunday, scoring a stunning winner before being sent off in injury time for picking up a second yellow card.
However, he was not selected for Giampiero Ventura's Italy squad for the upcoming FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Macedonia.
Here is Italy's complete 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Mattia Perin (Genoa)
Defenders: Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Alessio Romagnoli (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Giacomo Bonaventura (AC Milan), Antonio Candreva (Inter Milan), Domenico Criscito (Zenit), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Marco Verratti (Paris-Saint Germain)
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Eder Citadin Martins (Inter Milan), Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng), Nicola Sansone (Villarreal)
Read: 12 Stars Snubbed From Spain Squad
Balotelli last played for Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and was also overlooked by Ventura's predecessor, Antonio Conte.
He has scored more goals this season than any of the strikers who were called up, with Belotti (five goals), Immobile (four goals) and Pelle (four goals) also seemingly in form, but Eder (no goals) and Gabbiadini (one goal) are yet to convince.
Do you think Balotelli deserves to be recalled to the Italy squad? Have your say in the comments section below.
