 In his debut on 5 September 2008, he scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw with Greece.Balotelli was named in the final 23-man squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships and scored the opening goal against the hosts Sweden in the 23rd minute.Barely 15 minutes later, he was shown a red card for retaliating against Swedish midfielder Pontus Wernbloom.