Italy vs. France: Roberto Mancini harshly reprimands an Azzurri player after substituting him. What happened?

During Italy’s spectacular evening at San Siro, there was a tense moment in the second half after Sebastiano Esposito missed a penalty kick. Before stepping up to the spot, the Sassuolo forward had spoken with his brother Pio, deciding that he would take the penalty kick.

After the miss, Esposito was immediately substituted, and a very angry Mancini confronted him harshly: “Why did you take the shot? You weren’t supposed to take it.” The coach wouldn’t hear any excuses, and Lele Oriali led the player away, trying to console him.

At the post-match press conference, despite the victory, Mancini was blunt on the matter: “Pio was the designated penalty taker. Next time, the Esposito brothers won’t get mixed up anymore,” he said in no uncertain terms. Pio Esposito, interviewed by RAI after the game, explained why his brother had taken the shot: “My brother had converted more penalty kicks than I had, but he wasn’t the one who was supposed to take it. We were both listed on the sheet. Seba has the most penalty goals on the entire team—anyone can miss.”

The missed penalty came in the 57th minute, following a foul by Malo Gusto on Cambiaghi in the box, called by referee Kovacs. Sebastiano Esposito’s shot went spectacularly wide, but Italy didn’t let it affect them. Just five minutes later, in the 62nd minute, Frattesi scored the go-ahead goal with a first-time shot off a cross from Dimarco, who had just come on. In the 74th minute, a second penalty was awarded following a foul by Upamecano on Vergara. This time, Pio Esposito stepped up to the spot, made no mistake, and sealed the 3-1 victory, redeeming his brother’s earlier miss. For the center forward, it was his ninth goal in 14 appearances for the national team. It was he who, in the 26th minute, equalized France’s early lead—scored by Olise following a build-up error by Donnarumma—by beating Upamecano to Cambiaghi’s cross.