Türkiye vs Italy was over as a contest inside half an hour. Roberto Mancini’s Italy scored three times in 18 minutes in the rain in Bursa on Monday night and went on to win 4-1, three days after losing 2-0 at home to Belgium. It was Mancini’s first win of his second spell in charge, and it came on a night the Esposito family made some history of their own.
Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi, debutant Michael Kayode and Francesco Pio Esposito scored for Italy. Barış Alper Yılmaz pulled one back for Vincenzo Montella’s Türkiye just after half time, but Esposito restored the three goal cushion within minutes.
Three brothers, one record
Pio Esposito, 21, started up front alongside his older brother Sebastiano, 24, who was making his Italy debut. According to the Associated Press and Football Italia, it is the first time two brothers have started the same match for Italy since Aldo and Luigi Cevenini did it against Switzerland in 1915.
There is a third brother too. Salvatore Esposito, 25, won his only Italy cap in 2022, so the family is now the first to have three brothers play for Italy at senior level, as both outlets point out. Pio then capped the night with a goal of his own, a diving header from a rebound early in the second half, per the Italian federation’s match report.
Türkiye vs Italy: how the goals went in
| Minute | Score | Scorer | How it happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9′ | 0-1 | Alessandro Bastoni | Finish from a corner |
| 22′ | 0-2 | Davide Frattesi | Tap in after Kayode’s shot was parried |
| 27′ | 0-3 | Michael Kayode | Low finish on his Italy debut |
| 47′ | 1-3 | Barış Alper Yılmaz | Low shot after a lapse at the back |
| 50′ | 1-4 | Pio Esposito | Header from a rebound |
Goal times from ESPN and UEFA’s results list; descriptions from ESPN and the Italian federation (FIGC). The FIGC report logs Yılmaz’s goal a minute earlier, in the 46th. The referee was England’s Michael Oliver.
Eight changes and three debuts
Mancini rang the changes after the Belgium defeat. ESPN and Football Italia both report that he made eight changes, keeping only Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sandro Tonali and Pio Esposito from Friday’s side. The FIGC lists the lineup as Donnarumma; Kayode, Giorgio Scalvini, Bastoni, Matteo Ruggeri; Frattesi, Nicolò Fagioli, Tonali; Giacomo Raspadori, Pio Esposito and Sebastiano Esposito.
Kayode, the Brentford full back, Ruggeri and Sebastiano Esposito all made their senior Italy debuts, and Kayode needed only 27 minutes to score. Mancini told the FIGC website his side were excellent for about an hour before dropping off, which is a fair summary of a game Italy had won by the 50th minute. Football Italia noted the pitch was heavy after rain in Bursa all day.
Nations League Group A1 table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Belgium | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Türkiye | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Italy sit third, level with Belgium on three points and on goal difference, with Belgium ahead after beating them in Rome. Türkiye are still looking for their first point after a 1-0 home defeat to France on Friday. The top two in each League A group reach the quarter-finals. In the group’s other game, Michael Olise’s late solo goal gave France a 1-0 win in Brussels.
What’s next for Italy and Türkiye
Italy go to the Stade de France to face group leaders France on Friday, October 2, while Türkiye travel to Belgium the same night. Both games kick off at 8:45pm CEST (7:45pm BST, 2:45pm ET).
The two sides meet again on Monday, October 5, in Bologna, again at 8:45pm CEST (7:45pm BST, 2:45pm ET). With France and Belgium playing each other that night, a second Italy win would matter a lot in a tight group.
