Italy coach Marcello Lippi has left troubled star Antonio Cassano.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi has left troubled star Antonio Cassano out of the squad for crucial World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Belarus.Cassano's failure to agree a new deal with Roma, as he looks to leave the club, has seen him pushed to the fringe at Stadio Olimpico.
A first start against Siena ended in a 3-2 defeat for Roma, and the forward's misery is unlikely to be lifted by the news that he has been left out of Italy's squad.
In his place, Udinese's prolific Vincenzo Iaquinta will continue after resolving a similar contract feud that had seen him sidelined by his club.
Italy will ensure that they are in next season's World Cup if they win one of their two forthcoming matches.
Squad:
Morgan De Sanctis (Udinese), Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio); Daniele Bonera (Parma), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Palermo), Marco Materazzi (Internazionale), Alessandro Nesta, Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus); Simone Barone (Palermo), Manuele Blasi (Juventus), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi, Aimo Diana (Sampdoria), Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo; Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Alberto Gilardino, Luca Toni (Fiorentina), Francesco Totti (Roma), Christian Vieri.
