Pio Esposito, a heartfelt tribute to his grandmother: “These haven’t been easy days”

Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates the goal he scored for Italy against Turkey. After the match, the forward spoke to RAI reporters: “I really want to dedicate this goal to my grandmother, who’s going through a tough time right now. I really wanted to score a goal to dedicate to her.”

The forward also highlighted the spirit with which Italy approached the match: “We had a lot of desire and enthusiasm—exactly what you need when wearing this jersey. In soccer, things don’t always go the way we want, but you always have to maintain this attitude. Today we had fun, and I think it showed.”

His thoughts then turned to his brother, with whom he shared the field for the national team: “I remember my first time, and I tried not to put any extra pressure on him. I hope he enjoyed it to the fullest; let’s hope we get to share the field again.”

In fact, the last time two brothers played in the same match for Italy was on November 15, 2000, in a friendly against England at the Delle Alpi stadium in Turin, which the Azzurri won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Gennaro Gattuso. On that occasion, Simone Inzaghi entered the game in the 61st minute, while Filippo Inzaghi was substituted in the 72nd minute. The two brothers were thus on the field at the same time for eleven minutes—the last such stretch played by a pair of brothers in the same national team match.

Now the record belongs to the Esposito brothers. Pio, born in 2005 and a forward for Inter, and Sebastiano, born in 2002 and recently transferred to Sassuolo, had already been called up together to the Under-21 team in 2025. However, the match against Turkey marked their simultaneous debut in the starting lineup for the senior national team.

To find the last pair of brothers to start together from the beginning, you have to go all the way back 111 years. The last were Aldo and Luigi Cevenini, both starters on January 31, 1915, in the match against Switzerland.