Mario Balotelli has to demonstrate his desire to play for his country if he is to return to the Italy setup in the near future, coach Antonio Conte has said.
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Speaking after the Azzurri had begun their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win in Norway on Wednesday, Conte told reporters the squad he had chosen for his first two games was largely the one he wanted to continue working with.
But he stressed that players such as Balotelli could force their way into the reckoning by showing the same commitment as the players who won in Oslo on Wednesday night.
"I need players who are hungry, not players who are famous," Conte told RAI television. "There's no going back. I need players who are willing to churn up the field, so that when the game is over they need to lay a new pitch. I need people who think about playing for the team."
Balotelli was heavily criticised after Italy's exit in the group stages of the World Cup -- and since then, Sassuolo's Simone Zaza and Borussia Dortmund's Ciro Immobile have impressed for the national team.
"Zaza has great quality. He's a player with hunger, like Immobile and many others," Conte said. "I need these characteristics -- the aggression and the pride in wearing this shirt. He, like everybody here, has given a great sign in terms of belonging to the cause.
"We're trying to create a team with a capital 'T' and I think we have the ingredients which can give us plenty to be happy about and a team the Italy fans can be proud of. If they are happy, we are happy too.
"This is our present and this will be our future. I've been very impressed to find these lads who were so proud to wear these colours."
Zaza scored his first international goal to set the Italians on their way against Norway, and said: "It was a dream. Now my goal is to remain part of this squad and carry on doing well."