Retegui: ‘Italy absorbing the ideas’ of new coach Gattuso

Mateo Retegui is glad Italy are ‘absorbing the ideas’ of coach Gennaro Gattuso after beating Israel 3-0 to secure a World Cup play-off berth.

Just days after a less than exhilarating 3-1 victory over Estonia, the Azzurri struggled to break down Israel at the Stadio Friuli.

Retegui saw a penalty saved in that game, but decided to step up again this evening and converted with power to break the deadlock.

Gianluigi Donnarumma had to make two big saves, as after the 5-4 victory over Israel last month, Italy again showed weakness dealing with the counter-attack.

However, Retegui curled a sensational finish into the far top corner, before Gianluca Mancini in stoppages turned in from a corner kick for the final 3-0 result.

“I am very happy, we are doing something very important here. The last two get togethers have been positive, we are absorbing the ideas of the coach,” Retegui told RAI Sport.

“I think we are creating a strong unit, we are scoring a lot of goals, and also managed to keep a clean sheet this evening.”