Vergara ‘so happy with Italy debut, but we wanted the win’ in France

Napoli winger Antonio Vergara is ‘so happy’ to make his Italy debut in a 1-1 draw with France. ‘We leave here unhappy with a draw, and that means a lot.’

Michael Olise had seen his free kick deflected off the wall to bounce in off the underside of the crossbar at the Stade de France, but Alessandro Bastoni robbed Como midfielder Lucas Da Cunha to score the equaliser.

This also saw the debut of Vergara, who was a late flourisher for Napoli and had never even represented Italy at youth level, but he had an impressive impact off the bench with no sign of nerves.

Vergara latest to debut for Italy

“I am so happy with my debut, but this is the way I play, a debut is just another game for me,” smiled Vergara on RAI Sport.

“The coach asked me to stay calm, and when I am in the right position, to take men on down the wing.”

France had won both matches in this Nations League group 1-0, away to Turkiye and Belgium, but Italy pushed to the end for all three points, especially after the Dayot Upamecano red card.

“We feel regret at not getting the win, above all when we had an extra man. We want to play open and attacking football against every opponent,” assured Vergara.

“The fact we leave here unhappy with a draw means a lot about our confidence going forward.”

Vergara is hoping for more playing time in the next Nations League match, as Italy host Turkiye on Monday evening with an opportunity to leapfrog Belgium into second place.

Belgium crushed Turkiye 3-0 tonight with a brace from Vergara’s Napoli teammate Kevin De Bruyne, and his former teammate Romelu Lukaku.