Retegui leaves his mark under Gattuso, equals legendary Italy strikers | OneFootball

Italy striker Mateo Retegui has scored five goals in four matches under Gennaro Gattuso, just one more than those netted in 17 appearances with Luciano Spalletti.

Former Atalanta striker Retegui has left his mark on Gattuso’s opening games as Italy coach, as the 26-year-old has netted five times in four matches.

The Al-Qadsiah star is the best goal scorer for La Nazionale under the new coach.

Furthermore, as reported by TMW, Retegui is the first Italy player to score at least two goals in two different games of the same edition of the World Cup qualifiers since Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero in the 2002 World Cup qualifying fixtures.

When did Retegui make his Italy debut?

UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Mateo Retegui of Italy celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Retegui made his Italy debut in 2023 under Roberto Mancini, scoring in each of his opening two international appearances against England and Malta. Retegui went on to score six goals in 17 matches under Mancini’s successor, Spalletti.

The 2024-25 Serie A top goalscorer left Atalanta for Al-Qadsiah in a €68m deal last summer.

What Retegui said after Italy 3-0 Israel

UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Mateo Retegui of Italy scores his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“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.”