Super Mario, adopted Brazilians and untested kids tasked with taking Gli Azzurri to the World Cup

It's going to be lively in the Italy camp these days! Gli Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini decided to re-introduce a devastating but unreliable weapon to his arsenal. The name of the weapon is Mario Balotelli.

The 31-year-old striker hasn't played for his country for over three years and was believed to be finished at the international level after moving to the Turkish club Adana Demirspor. But a string of solid performances and, more importantly, the inability of Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti to translate their Serie A goalscoring exploits to international football.

Enter Super Mario!

After breaking onto the scene with Lumenzzane as a youngster, he was quickly spotted by Inter and that's where his career really lift off. He started appearing for the Nerazzurri when he was only 17, quickly making a name for himself thanks to his sublime skill and great showmanship.

Why always you? Because you're the only one to celebrate a goal by kicking your teammate in the head

One aspect of Mario's personality has always been his lack of self-control in some situations. He's always been easily provoked on and off the pitch, moody and prone to sulking if referees' decisions don't go his way. Also, he would produce breathtaking performances one week and then disappear the next - simply because he's not in the mood for football. Recently, he celebrated a goal by kicking his teammates. Yep, that's Mario!

He earned 36 caps with the national team, scoring 14 goals – so far. Coach Mancini knows Balotelli very well, having coached him at Inter and Manchester City. If there is a man who can get the best out of the quirky Ghanaian-born attacker – it's Mancini.

Friday, 03.00: (4.90) Jamaica (3.40) Mexico (1.80)

The Balotelli call-up isn't the only surprising decision on Mancini's part. He also called Cagliari's living legend Joao Pedro. The 29-year-old was born in Brazil but has spent most of his career in Italy. Currently in his eighth season with Cagliari, Joao Pedro earned a reputation as one of the best Serie A players never to have played for some of the biggest clubs. He's an industrious attacking midfielder who became a bit of a cult hero on Sardinia thanks to his talent and dedication to Cagliari. In the meantime, he married an Italian woman and gained Italian citizenship in 2017. He'll join the Azzurri's Brazilian contingent of Juninho, Rafael Toloi, Emerson Palmieri and another debutant Felipe Luiz.

Besides Pedro and Luiz, five more players received their first international call-ups: goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, defender Giorgio Scalvini, midfielders Nicolo Fagioli, Davide Frattesi and Samuele Ricci. Is this the right time for Mancini to make so many changes in his squad? It depends. If Italy qualify for Qatar 2022, he will be lauded as a genius. And if they fail…

European champions will host North Macedonia in the World Cup qualifying playoffs on 24 March. The winner advances to play either Portugal or Turkey five days later. It's not going to be easy for the 2006 champions, who are in danger of missing two successive World Cups for the first time.