Pio Esposito was joined by his older brother Sebastiano in Italy's starting line-up for their Nations League match against Turkey on Monday night. It was the first time two brothers had started for the Azzurri in more than a century.
It was the international debut of 24-year-old Sebastiano Esposito. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Pio had ten caps for Italy and five goals. Pio added another goal and an assist in Italy's dominant 4-1 win in Turkey. Sebastiano also came close to scoring several times.
"I remember the first match with Italy very well, as it was only last year. So I didn't want to put more pressure on him. I hope he enjoyed it to the fullest," said Pio Esposito.
"It was really great to share this experience with him. I hope we will do this many more times."
They became the fourth brothers to play in the same match for Italy, including Filippo and Simone Inzaghi in 2000. But the last time two brothers started in a match for Italy was in 1915. Aldo and Luigi Cevenini scored all the goals in the 3-1 win over Switzerland.
Furthermore, Sebastiano became the third of the Esposito brothers to play for Italy. Salvatore Esposito, who is the eldest of the brothers and is 25 years old, played a match in 2022. It is the first time that three brothers have played for Italy at the adult level.
Pio broke through with Inter last season. Sebastiano joined Sassuolo on loan from Cagliari in the summer.
In the match in Bursa, played in front of 34 spectators, Italy improved significantly compared to the first match of the Nations League. On September 25, Italy lost 2:0 in Rome to Belgium. There was a lot of criticism for the Italians afterwards. But against Turkey, the Italians had a dominant performance. Alessandro Bastoni scored in the ninth minute. Davide Frattesi added another goal in the 22nd minute, while Michael Kayode scored in the 27th minute. Esposito scored in the 50th minute.
Italy is trying to get back on track. On October 2nd, they will face a real challenge, facing France on the road.