Pio Esposito shrugs off penalty ghosts as he continues impressive scoring streak for Italy
The 21-year-old forward reached nine goals in 14 Italy appearances and sealed the win with a late penalty.
- On Thursday, Italy defeated France 3-1 at San Siro in the UEFA Nations League, with 21-year-old forward Pio Esposito scoring twice. Nearly 71,500 fans watched as Esposito sealed the result with a 75th-minute penalty.
- Italy's first home win against Les Bleus in 64 years showcased Esposito's remarkable rise from Serie B loan at Spezia until last season to a breakout campaign at Inter Milan. The victory ended a long drought in head-to-head home matches.
- Italy coach Roberto Mancini confirmed after the match that Esposito was top of the penalty list, with his older brother Sebastiano second. Sebastiano had missed a spot kick 15 minutes earlier when the score was 1-1.
- Stepping up to the spot, Esposito aimed to "make people forget my brother's mistake" and confront his own demons from Italy's World Cup playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "I couldn't hide for the rest of my life," he concluded.
- With nine goals in 14 appearances, Esposito trails only Giuseppe Meazza in scoring rate at his age. He now pursues the all-time record of 35 goals set by Gigi Riva 52 years ago.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Italy took the lead in the UEFA Nations League by defeating France 3-1 at home. Francesco Pio Esposito was the star of the match with two goals.
Squadre Adzurra beat the contestant and led the group's table with Italy and France giving fans a bright and intense match within the League of Nations. By passing a fast ball, the owners managed to reverse the game in the second half of the game and to rip out the wrestling victory. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA. The League of UEFA Nations. The Group Phase. The League A. The Fifth Round of Italy – France – 3:1 Goels: P. Esposito, 26, 75 (wit…
Pio Esposito doesn't want to stop anymore: with the last double he climbed to 9 goals in 14 matches with the national team. Will he be able to overcome the record of Riva? The average goal so far is lower, but he is ahead of other former Blue bombers and center forwards who made the history of this century ITALY-FRANCE 3-1: THE HIGHLIGHTS
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