The Italian Argentine forward, who leads the Liga Profesional in goals scored with Tigre, could be called up by national coach Roberto Mancini for the double Euro 2024 qualifying match against Malta and England. The 1999-born bomber holds an Italian passport and has never been called up by the Argentine Selección, making him an attractive option for the Italian coach, who risks not having enough strikers for the double challenge. Mateo is the son of an Argentine sports legend, Carlos "El Chapa" Retegui, former coach of the Argentine national field hockey teams with whom he won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics with the men's team and the 2010 women's world championship. Mateo was raised in Boca Juniors, where he still holds the player's card. During his time at Estudiantes de La Plata, where the club's president, Juan Sebastián Verón, is a familiar face from Italian soccer, the young talent of Argentine soccer began to be recognized. In the club, "Pincharrata" is remembered for the goal with which he defeated Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata in the derby in 2019, then coached by Diego Armando Maradona. After a spectacular season with Talleres de Córdoba (6 goals and 24 appearances), Retegui joined Tigre in 2022 and scored 25 goals in 33 games. Retegui is not the only Argentine on the verge of donning the blue jersey. The club Belgrano de Córdoba announced on Wednesday that midfielder Bruno Zapelli has been called up to the Italian national under-21 team for the March 24 and 25 friendlies against Serbia and Ukraine. According to the Argentine specialized newspaper Olé, three other Argentine talents with dual citizenship are pursuing a place on the Italian national team: Nicolás Capaldo, midfielder of Salzburgo and born in Boca Juniors, Pedro De La Vega striker of Club Atlético Lans, and Tomás Badaloni striker of Godoy Cruz of Mendoza.