Simone Zaza conceded to feeling "a little emotional" after scoring in Italy's 1-1 draw with Netherlands, two years on from his embarrassing penalty miss against Germany.
The striker broke the deadlock in Turin, albeit with the aid of Virgil van Dijk's unfortunate attempt at a clearance from Federico Chiesa's low cross.
Zaza's goal, which came shortly after his introduction from the bench, helped to ease some of the pain of his spot-kick howler at Euro 2016, when his bizarre run-up preceded a wild effort which he blazed over the crossbar in a quarter-final shoot-out loss.
Nathan Ake levelled the scores in Monday's match after Domenico Criscito had seen red for the hosts in a clash of two sides who failed to qualify for the World Cup, but Zaza was able to focus on the positives.
"I am happy for the goal as I had some rather sad memories of the national team," the Valencia forward told Rai Sport.
"I was a little lucky, but I had a really rough time and all those negative memories, so I felt a little emotional.
GOAAAAALLLL!!!!!66’ throws himself at a cross to open the scoring! 1-0 June 4, 2018
"I am happy with the performance, as we are a young squad and – unfortunately to a degree – we have a lot of time to prepare for the next tournament.
"Negative moments, not just that penalty, but also my experience in England [with West Ham], helped me to grow. I thank the people who were always close to me and I march on.
"I might be biased, but I think Italy have a young, enthusiastic side with a lot of quality and even more potential that over time will become competitive."
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