Thiago Motta felt he did a good job trying to convince Italy coach Antonio Conte to take him to this summer's European Championship in Thursday night's 1-1 draw with Spain.
In the absence of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marco Verratti, Motta, 33, gave Conte food for thought in his first appearance since Italy's ill-fated World Cup campaign.
Motta had not previously been called up by Conte, but says he never lost belief of forcing his way back in.
"The World Cup wasn't great, but I always wanted to wear the Azzurra shirt again," he told RAI television. "I knew it would be hard, but I just kept on doing my job for PSG and tried to win this chance back. I'm always playing for my club and I'm doing my best, like everybody is."
Motta knows he has to convince Conte to take him to France, potentially ahead of the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi, with places limited in a midfield where the Italy coach is not short of options.
"[Pirlo and De Rossi] are great players and they've proven it right through their careers. It's going to be the coach who decides whether they will go to the European Championship or not.
"I don't see [Verratti] as a rival, but as a teammate. He's been through a rough patch, but he's a player I like a lot."
Meanwhile, Federico Bernardeschi says he just did as he was told by Conte, and hopes it was enough to convince the manager to take him to Euro 2016.
The Fiorentina winger made his debut for the senior Italy team in Thursday's 1-1 draw and was involved in the move which saw Lorenzo Insigne put the Squadra Azzurra in front, while he did not look out of his depth during his first 30 minutes as an Italy international.
"It was a beautiful, positive and emotional debut," he told RAI television. "It's a pity about the result, and that their equaliser was offside, but we created a lot and did well, particularly in the first half.
"We younger players try to give the best of ourselves and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight it went well and we're all happy.
"I just tried to do what the coach asked of me, and it worked out. Now it's not up to me. All I think of is working and taking on board what my teammates and the coach say. If I get called up depends on Conte."