The coach of the Italian soccer teamRoberto Mancini, said that he summoned Mateo Retegui “because we lack players who score goals” and did not rule out that the nationalized Argentine could debut with the “azzurra” shirt on Thursday in Naples against England, for the qualifying phase for Euro 2024.
At a press conference, the Italian coach was asked this Monday about who would take the place of center forward against the English and admitted that “there is Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham) and also Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), but we have to see how they arrive from the Premier League. And now we are closely following Retegui”.
Regarding the Tigre footballer, goalscorer in the Argentine Professional League, Mancini stressed that “I called him because we lack players who score goals. We thought he was doubting, but he immediately answered yes.”
3️⃣0️⃣ #Azzurri summoned by the coach #Mancini for the qualifying competitions ad #EURO2024 against #England e #Malta 📋🔥
The news 👉🏻 https://t.co/mNHtWUUkEX#National🇮🇹 #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/nCXi36sfqN
— Italian national team ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) March 17, 2023
“We have been following Retegui for a long time, he is a young boy, and he is a hope for us that can be important”said the Italian coach, the Corriere dello Sport newspaper reported today.
“I don’t know why -added the DT- but there aren’t many Italian players who score goals. If we look at the ranking of top scorers, the first Italian striker is (Ciro) Immobile”.
With regard to the “dream” of winning the Eurocup again, the coach assured that “we are not in an easy group. Ukraine is not among the last, and England has become a very important match.”
“The selection is always very important, and everyone wants to play in the Eurocup,” Mancini concluded.
After being eliminated in the qualifying stage and staying out of the World Cup in Qatar, the Italian team will play on Thursday against England in Naples and next Sunday against Malta, as a visitor, in the first qualifying matches for Euro 2024.
Retegui arrived at the training center with his father, the field hockey coach of Las Leonas and Los Leones, Carlos, and his representative, Diego Maggiolo, and after the rigorous medical examination he carried out the first training session, very light, together with his new companions. Only tomorrow will the work intensify and there Mancini will be able to observe it more closely and in depth.
