European Qualifiers: Graziano Pelle delighted with Italy's win over Malta
Tuesday 14 October 2014 18:37, UK
Southampton's Graziano Pelle hopes to be a regular for Italy following his goalscoring debut against Malta on Monday.
Picking up his first cap at the age of 29, Pelle notched the only goal in the Azzurri's 1-0 win in Group H of the European Qualifiers.
After an impressive start to his international career, the Saints forward revealed his delight while praising his strike partner Ciro Immobile.
"I'm happy to be finally with the National team,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I scored and I could have got another. I played in a good way with Immobile. I'm coming from the Premier League where the intensity is really high.
“For us, it wasn’t easy facing a team like Malta. They dropped back and I’m not a big fan of this type of football.”
The former Feyenoord striker is thankful to club manager Ronald Koeman and Italy boss Antonio Conte for believing in his ability.
“I hope to stay with the national team. In Holland, I scored 50 goals and hoped to get a little consideration from (former Italy boss) Cesare Prandelli – even if it wasn’t a call-up," he said.
“But he made his choices and he had the right to do so.
“Koeman? He put faith in me, as well as Conte.”
