Mateo Retegui made his debut with a goal in Italy and agreed with Mancini, although he could not avoid the defeat against England

Nobody knows how this story will end.

But undoubtedly March 23, 2023 will be marked on the calendar as a turning point in

's career .

The striker found himself at a crossroads, made his choice and, in principle, seems to have made the right choice:

in the match that the

lost 2-1 to England this Thursday at the

stadium in Naples for the first date of qualifying for the Eurocup in Germany 2024.

Surprise, first, and a great expectation, later, had generated the call of the

.

, coach

had justified on Monday.

The injuries to Ciro Immobile and Giacomo Raspadori, and the lack of activity at their clubs for Wilfried Gnonto, Gianluca Scamacca and Andrea Belotti led to this chance for the player who will turn

and that he developed his entire career on Argentine soil, despite the fact that several clubs in Italy, Spain, Germany and England follow him closely, as his father, Carlos Retegui, revealed a few days

.

"It reminds me a bit of the first (Gabriel) Batistuta

," Mancini said before the debut.

," analyst Luigi Garlando said in Thursday's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport.

With that backing and with the number 19 jersey (the one usually used by captain Leonardo Bonucci, absent due to injury), Retegui took to the field from the start of a duel that ended better than it started for Italy, although that did not It was enough to avoid defeat.

In a first half in which the locals could not spin even a risky play,

, since he made almost no contact with the ball, absorbed by John Stones and Harry Maguire.

Against this fearful rival,

.

First with a shout from Declan Rice, after one of the many crosses that tormented the Italian defense, and then with a penalty from Harry Kane, who thus became the top scorer in the history of the English team (he reached 54 and left Wayne Rooney behind).

Despite the fact that the easiest decision would have been to replace him,

after the break and the Tigre player responded to him on the first occasion that he was facing the goal and in a favorable position: 11 minutes into the game. complement and after receiving from Lorenzo Pellegrini,

That made the Italian supporters celebrate and especially those who won some tickets thanks to this goal: the bookmakers paid between 3.50 and 3.55 euros for each one bet if Retegui scored in his debut.

That goal served as a wake-up call for the

, which is still undergoing

after failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

In the last half hour, the game took place almost entirely on visiting ground and danger settled in the Pickford area.

This was not enough to change the course of the clash and so

.

His last triumph dated back to November 16, 1977, when he had won 2-0 at Wembley with goals from Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking in a game for the 1978 World Cup Qualifiers.

Beyond the defeat,

, who became the 22nd Argentine player to represent Italy, including five who were world champions: Luis Monti, Raimundo Orsi, Enrique Guaita and Atilio Demaría , in 1934;

and Mauro Camoranesi, in 2006. The striker will be able to add more minutes next Sunday, when Mancini's team faces Malta in Ta' Qali for the second date of group C that also includes Ukraine and North Macedonia.

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