23-year-old Mateo Retegui was born in San Fernando, Argentina. However, this forward never got a chance in the national team of his country. Played for the Argentinian Premier Division club Tigre. From there he came to the attention of the Italian coach.
Matteo suddenly got a chance in Italy’s 30-man squad for the Euro qualifiers. Everyone was surprised by that. At that time Italian coach Roberto Mancini said, ‘We were keeping an eye on Matteo. He has been playing regularly in the Argentinian league for two seasons. He has the quality that we lack.’
Mateo has repaid the coach’s trust very well. He made his debut for Italy in the match against England. In the debut match, Italy lost 2-1, but he scored a goal. Then Italy beat Malta 2-0 in the second match of the Euro qualifiers on Sunday night. He also scored a goal in this match.
After getting a place in the national team, Mateo set a unique precedent by scoring in the first two matches. He became the second player in Italian football history after Pierino to score in his first two matches.
Pierino set a record for Italy in 1968 by scoring two goals on his debut and the following match. After 55 years, Mateo Retegui, who played for Argentina U-19 and U-20 teams, shared that record.
Mateo scored in the 15th minute of the match against Malta. Then in the 27th minute, Matteo Pesina scored another goal. After that, however, they did not reach the net. But the Azzurri bounced back from their loss against England with a 2-0 win. Italy will face Spain in the UEFA Nations League match on June 16.
