Riccardo Montolivo has said that Mario Balotelli will have a bright future should he perform to the level he did in tonight's 3-1 win over Denmark.

The Manchester City striker scored the game's final goal as the Azzurri were forced to battle on with 10 men following the red card shown to Pablo Osvaldo.

Montolivo, who opened the scoring in the San Siro, said that Balotelli led the line superbly in the second half as Denmark pressed for an equaliser.

"I think in the second half when we were down to 10 men, Balotelli was magnificent," Football Italia quotes Montolivo as saying.

"He was the entire front line, holding up the ball, running on to passes and keeping the defenders busy. He worked so hard for the team. If this is the real Balotelli, then we've got a great future ahead of us."

Italy sit top of Group B with 10 points from four games.