Giovanni Di Lorenzo admits he will ‘remember this night for the rest of my life’ after scoring his first Italy brace while wearing the captain’s armband in a 4-1 win over Israel.
The Napoli defender found the net twice at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, along with a Mateo Retegui penalty and the Davide Frattesi well-worked team move.
He had not managed to score for the Azzurri since November 2022, so almost two years, but it was the first time he had bagged a brace at international level.
Di Lorenzo breaks brace duck as Italy captain
“It was already exciting just wearing the armband, so two goals as well makes it remarkable. I will remember this night for the rest of my life,” Di Lorenzo told RAI Sport.
This can feel like a huge boost after a difficult year for the player, who had been pushing to leave Napoli after their disastrous campaign and the blame he in particular received for the post-Scudetto struggle.
“Tough moments come for all players, mine was last season, but I tried to keep going. People got a bit fixated on last season and didn’t realise I have done well so far this term.”
Although Israel have zero points from four games, they were still able to find the net in every single one against France, Belgium and twice with Italy.
“It was a tough game today, but we made it look simple.”
Another prove that not having Pellegrini is a positive thing, Azzurri also won EURO 2020 without him. He is a liability for Azzurri.