"We did some things well, then we were light on penalties and when we conceded goals, then we played a good game with the three-man defense and then with the 4-3-3. We have to work on this."
Words from Italy coach Luciano Spalletti after the victory in the first friendly match in the USA against Venezuela.
"From a physical impact point of view, we need to put in something more - adds the Italian coach - because we are superficial on some things. Retegui? Whoever scores goals always takes more than the others, he did well in keeping the ball, with his head in the defensive phase and then did what he had to do'."
"Retegui is perfect because he did an extraordinary job as a finisher and above all to bring the team up. He came to set pieces in defense to get us out of trouble because he is physical, and then he is very strong with his head."
Luciano Spalletti, in the post-match interview in the middle of the Italian night, does not hide his enthusiasm for Mateo Retegui: the Genoa striker with his brace allowed Italy to beat Venezuela 2-1 in a friendly in Miami.
"He deserves credit for all the dirty work he did because we were penalized from a physical point of view against a team that had more stature and structure than us", added the Italian coach.
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