ROME -- There is still no place for Mario Balotelli in the Italy squad after coach Gian Piero Ventura named a largely unchanged 26-man party for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Macedonia.
Balotelli has scored four goals in his past two league matches for Nice but missed last week's Ligue 1 game with injury and was forced off at half-time with illness after scoring in the Europa League against Krasnodar.
Italy are largely unchanged from the squad that won 3-1 in Israel in their opening qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup.
Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin, midfielders Domenico Criscito (Zenit St. Petersburg) and Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), and Villareal forward Nicola Sansone return for Italy.
Perin replaces injured Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti as one of the reserves to Gianluigi Buffon, along with AC Milan's teenage shotstopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Donnarumma, 17, became the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for the Azzurri and the youngest Italian player overall in modern times when he replaced Buffon at halftime against France last month.
Italy plays Spain in Turin on Thursday before travelling to Skopje to face Macedonia on Sunday.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini is suspended against Spain.
Italy squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Mattia Perin (Genoa).
Defenders: Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Alessio Romagnoli (AC Milan).
Midfielders: Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Giacomo Bonaventura (AC Milan), Antonio Candreva (Inter Milan), Domenico Criscito (Zenit St. Petersburg), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain).
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Eder (Inter Milan), Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng), Nicola Sansone (Villareal).