Fiorentina veteran Jack Bonaventura was delighted with a first goal for Italy in victory over Malta.

The Azzurri defeated Malta 4-0 in yesterday's Euro qualifier.

Bonaventura said afterwards: "Great emotion. When you play in Italy, scoring a goal for the Azzurri is a special thing. Today we were up against a closed team, it was important to break the deadlock and I'm happy about this."

"I always hoped for it, even if the more time passed the less chance I had. Now I'm playing well with the club and I hope to help out.

"When I started playing, the midfielder was very different. We were more wait-and-see, now we press more and on a technical level we have to raise the level and play forward. I'm lucky, because Italiano asks us more or less the same things.

"My goal is to do well with the club and, if I'm called, to help out here. The European Championship is not far away and, if I do well with the club, why not...?"