Mateo Retegui scored on his Italy debut, albeit in a defeat to England, and feels ‘so proud for me and my family’ to represent the Azzurri.
The 23-year-old, born and raised in Argentina but with his roots in Italy, was the only bright spark in the 2-1 home defeat to England, finding the net with an angled drive.
“Lorenzo Pellegrini gave me a great assist, I am pleased to have scored and that will boost my confidence. I wanted to win, that is the most important thing.”
By that point, the game was already practically out of reach thanks to a Declan Rice effort on a corner and Harry Kane’s penalty for a Giovanni Di Lorenzo handling offence.
“I am sad for the defeat, but very happy to make my debut with this jersey representing Italy,” Retegui told RAI Sport.
“I feel so proud for me and my family to wear these colours. I would’ve liked to debut with a victory, but we must work to correct our errors and win the next match.”
The top two from each group qualify directly for the EURO 2024 tournament in Germany, and the Azzurri are in the same group as North Macedonia, Ukraine and Malta.
It is Malta who they face next on Sunday evening.
Retegui was asked how he has settled in, considering he was thrown straight into the starting XI on his debut and after his first call-up to the Nazionale.
“I was given a warm welcome, everyone showed faith in me and I am happy to be here with them. We wanted to get a win for the fans, so we leave here feeling sad.”