Francesco Pio Esposito says he hopes to line up alongside his brother Sebastiano more regularly for Italy after the pair featured together in Monday’s 4-1 Nations League victory over Turkiye.
The result gave Roberto Mancini his first win since returning as Italy head coach. Francesco Pio scored one goal and set up another, while Sebastiano registered three shots – more than any other Italy player on the night.
Their appearance made them only the fourth set of brothers to play in the same match for Italy.
Filippo and Simone Inzaghi did so twice in 2000, Aldo and Luigi Cevenini appeared together in 1915, and Giuseppe and Felice Milano played alongside one another three times between 1912 and 1913.
Francesco Pio, meanwhile, became the third-youngest player to go beyond five goals for the Azzurri, reaching the mark aged 21 years and 92 days.
Only Giuseppe Meazza, who achieved it at 19 years and 261 days, and Gianni Rivera, at 21 years and 78 days, were younger.
“I thoroughly enjoyed playing with Seba. It was his first time, so I tried not to overwhelm him with emotions,” Francesco Pio Esposito told Vivo Azzurro.
“We had fun, and I’m happy for his debut. Hopefully, we can share the field more often. There was a lot of desire and enthusiasm, which is what you always need when wearing this shirt.”
Sebastiano Esposito said Mancini had encouraged the brothers to make the most of the occasion, despite the pressure that came with it.
“Mancini told us to enjoy it… Although it’s not easy because of the emotions you feel,” he said.
“If you’re playing for Azzurri with your brother, it’s even more complicated. Mancini explained how we should position ourselves and move. It was beautiful.”
The victory was Italy’s first away win by a margin of at least three goals since November 2019, when they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0.
It also ended a 1,198-day wait for Italy to return to winning ways with Mancini in charge. Their previous victory had come in a 3-2 win over Netherlands in June 2023.
