Matteo Pessina didn’t realise he had made history as the first Monza player to score for Italy and explains why their performances against England and Malta weren’t exactly scintillating.
The Nazionale knew they had to win in Malta, especially after an opening 2-1 defeat to England at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
After an early scare with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s fingertip save, Italy took control to score with Mateo Retegui and Matteo Pessina, sealing a 2-0 victory after 27 minutes.
Pessina made history as the first ever Monza player to score a goal for Italy.
“I didn’t know that,” Pessina told RAI Sport.
“Apart from the goal, I am happy with the victory. These games are never easy, as we saw today, the important thing was to win and get the first points on the board.”
He has a surprisingly good record in international football, as well as being part of the squad that won EURO 2020, Pessina has scored five goals in just 16 senior caps.
“It is an honour for me to be here and being able to help the team with goals is even better.”
Mancini said Italy could’ve done everything better this evening and the midfielder couldn’t help but agree, albeit with a caveat.
“That is certainly true, but we haven’t had much time to work together, we already played on Thursday, hadn’t seen each other since November, so it always takes a little time to get on the same page. We are all from different clubs, playing different tactical systems.
“We worked hard and got the result, hopefully the coach can be pleased with that.”
Italy now have three points from two EURO 2024 qualifiers, while England have six points in two and North Macedonia three points in one match.