Zenit St Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito has revealed that he’s unhappy with his exclusion from Italy’s 2014 World Cup squad.
The 27-year-old was left out of Cesare Prandelli’s 30-man provisional line up for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil and he admits that he wasn’t expecting to miss the tournament, as he was included in Prandelli’s previous team for the Azzurri’s friendlies earlier this year.
Criscito spoke to TuttoMercatoWeb about his exclusion from the Italy team and claimed that he’s more upset now than he was after being left out of the national team for the Euro 2012 competition.
“I didn’t expect this, it really is a blow because I was in the last group,” said the former Genoa man.
“Has playing in Russia had an effect on my chances? I don’t think so. Also because I play in a team that has reached the knockout stages of the Champions League and if you achieve goals like this, then it’s not by accident.
“Have I had a chance to speak to Prandelli? No, I learned everything from the TV. I’ll admit, it’s a huge blow.
“It’s even worse than what happened two years ago. At least two years ago there was a reason for excluding me from the final line up.
“But now? The interesting thing is that there hasn’t been an inkling of knowledge leading up to my exclusion.
“Will I confront the coach about it? The coach has to make choices. I know I did my best and I don’t have to ask anyone about that.”
