Italy left Turkey with a 4-1 UEFA Nations League win and an evening that reached beyond the scoreline: Pio and Sebastiano Esposito started together for the Azzurri, the first brothers to share Italy’s starting XI in more than a century. Pio marked the occasion with a goal and an assist as Roberto Mancini’s side found their first victory of his new spell in charge.
An Esposito night in Turkey
The brothers’ selection revived a rare thread in Italy’s international history. Aldo and Luigi Cavenini had been the previous pair of brothers named in the Azzurri’s starting side, against Switzerland in 1915, when both scored in a 9-4 victory.
Italy had not even had two brothers on the pitch together since 2000, when Simone and Filippo Inzaghi overlapped for 11 minutes against England. This time, the Espositos began the match side by side, with Inter forward Pio supplying the decisive individual contribution.
How Italy took control
- Italy established territorial control from the opening minutes, pressing Turkey back even if their early attacks lacked a final touch.
- Alessandro Bastoni opened the scoring in the ninth minute after Turkey failed to clear a corner.
- Davide Frattesi doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 22nd minute.
- Michael Kayode made it 3-0 five minutes later, finishing a flowing Italian move after Pio Esposito’s assist.
- Turkey reduced the gap two minutes after the restart. Baris Yilmaz took advantage of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s poor positioning after the goalkeeper came out unsuccessfully.
- Italy answered quickly in the 50th minute, when Pio Esposito struck after Altay Bayındır’s clearance dropped centrally.
- Oguz Aydin appeared to give Turkey a route back at 4-2 in the 57th minute, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
That disallowed goal was Turkey’s last genuinely clear opening. Despite Yilmaz’s goal, the home side never sustained enough pressure to unsettle Italy, who managed the remainder of the contest with relative calm.
The defeat was Turkey’s second of the Nations League group phase. For Italy, the result provides badly needed momentum before the final match of the first half of the group schedule, a meeting with France that will shape their prospects.
Next stops: Paris and Liège
Both teams return to Nations League action on Friday, 2 October. Italy travel to the Stade de France to face France, while Turkey go to Liège, where Belgium await at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
