Italy coach Luciano Spalletti admits he's impressed by Mateo Retegui.

The Genoa striker scored twice in the friendly win against Venezuela on Friday.

“Retegui has shown he is a perfect fit for that role," said Spalletti.

"We didn't have him in recent matches due to injury, but he scored two great goals as well as working hard for the team, so he is perfect.

“We should always try to play out from the back, but that approach has limits, we mustn't do it beyond reason, otherwise you can lose the ball to give away a penalty or concede goals.

“If the other team does well to press you and create problems, it is possible to go long for the centre-forward, especially if it's someone like Retegui who is good at controlling it."