Cesare Prandelli is seeking consistency from Mario Balotelli on his Italy squad ahead of their match on Friday against Costa Rica.

“If we look at the four years that we have had with Mario there have been times when he has been our weapon, he was the asset, he was the man who would have taken us to the moon,” Prandelli said. “But then, after two months, he wasn’t performing. Many thought that he would not even make it to the World Cup so what really matters is that he concentrated and he is focused.

“It’s important for him to do what he did in the last match, to be as intense. If he can do that for 90 minutes, great. Otherwise we will have someone just as good and just as fresh in the pitch. We started with 23 men and he is one of those 23 men. He may be decisive, he may be important but, as in the last match, he must give 100%.”