Italy striker Matteo Retegui has stated that he is ready to defend the Azzurri and the Italian national team ’till death’, as the side gear up to take on Albania in their EURO 2024 opener later today.
The defending European champions have been handed a rather tricky group, as Spain and Croatia are also in their group and they will take on them later after the game against Albania today. But that is precisely why the game today will be important as even finishing third could take them through.
Retegui might not start against Albania today but he spoke to SportWeek about the game today, the tournament and his alignment to the Azzurri.
He said (via TMW): “It’s always a pride to wear the national team shirt and I want to defend Italy till death. The debut didn’t go as I hoped, because I’m someone who always wants to win. But playing and scoring goals at the Maradona will stay with me.”
The Genoa striker, who had an injury-stricken campaign, also had praise for Luciano Spalletti. He said: “He has a very strong personality, he’s hot-blooded like me. We are two competitive players who have victory in mind. Compared to him, Mancini was a little calmer. With a new coach the competition increases among the players.”
Retegui is likely to come off the bench during the tournament, with Gianluca Scamacca currently nailed-on to be a starter.
