Giuseppe Rossi
Italy have announced their 23-man squad that will participate in this year’s World Cup in Brazil, which excludes Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi.
Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli opted to omit the 27-year-old forward from his squad, much to the dismay and shock of the Italian press.
Rossi, who scored 14 goals before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January, returned to action with three matches remaining in the Serie A season, scoring twice and providing two assists, yet his good return was not enough to earn a place in the national set-up for Brazil.
This is the second time Rossi has been cut form the provisional 30-man Italian World Cup squad, having suffered the exact same fate in 2010.
Prandelli has chosen Torino striker Ciro Immobile, who was Serie A’s top scorer with 22 goals this season, alongside young Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne, in place of Rossi, while Alessio Cerci and veteran Antonio Cassano join Mario Balotelli to complete the five-man list of strikers for the Mundial.
The other absentees include Mattia Destro, Christian Maggio, Manuel Pasqual, Romulo and Andrea Ranocchia, while AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was ruled out after breaking his tibia in Italy’s international friendly against Ireland on Saturday, which ended 0-0.
The Azzurri will face Luxembourg in their last friendly on Wednesday, before jetting to Brazil to prepare for their opening World Cup game against England on 14 June.
Full Italy squad for Brazil 2014:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain)
Defenders: Ignazio Abate (Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Gabriel Paletta (Parma)
Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)
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