Second and final stop on the US trip for the National team who, after the success on Thursday over Venezuela, have touched down in New York ahead of the game against Ecuador tomorrow (16:00 local time, 21:00 CET, live on Rai 1) at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison.

The star of the victory over Venezuela was Mateo Retegui, the former Tigre centre-forward who arrived at Genoa in the summer and bagged a brace to seal the Azzurri’s 2-1 win over the Vinotinto. Two proper poacher’s goals, the first was a diagonal grasscutter and the second saw him turning in a tight space to unleash a powerful shot. “I am very happy about yesterday’s game – his words before boarding the flight to the Big Apple – it’s important to have played well and won. Now we’ll think about the game against Ecuador”.

Celebrating in the stands at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale was also his family: “They were all happy for me. My dad, Carlos, and my stepdad came to watch the game and we got a coffee at the hotel”. On the horizon, there’s the Euros, but Mateo knows that the road to Germany is still long: “There’s many days to go, first I need to think about the game against Ecuador, then doing well with Genoa. I am thankful to the coach for giving me this opportunity but I also know that I have to keep working hard, trying to improve day after day for him to call me again. It is an honour to be here, a dream”.

Called up for the first time in March 2023 by Roberto Mancini, after two goals in his first two Azzurri appearances against England and Malta, a year later came his first two goals under Spalletti. And with the brace against Venezuela, he has scored a total of 4 goals in 5 appearances for Italy. But Spalletti also praised hum for his ability to play for the team and fight in every situation without ever losing focus in front of goal: “The coach asks me to attack deep, helping the side keep possession. He and the staff give me faith, they make me play calmly”. And this, you can see on the pitch.