Greece 0-1 Italy: Baldini’s perfect record as Pio Esposito scores again

Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito scored his second consecutive goal for Italy in a 1-0 victory against Greece, where Borussia Dortmund’s Luca Reggiani was sent off just 13 minutes into his senior debut.Italy beat Greece 1-0 in an international friendly played on Sunday night, securing the second consecutive win under interim coach Silvio Baldini, who is now set to return to the U21 squad.Greece 0-1 Italy: Match reportOn a night dominated by Italy’s triumph in the U17 European Championship, Pio Esposito scored his fifth goal in nine appearances for the Azzurri. The forward met a fine cross from Jeff Ekhator with an excellent first touch before firing home with his right foot, aided by a slight deflection off a Greek defender.The Inter talent had another opportunity before the break, receiving a through ball, but failing to find the net with a weak attempt saved by Vlachodimos.The second half began with Luca Koleosho hitting the crossbar with a left-foot finish from point-blank range from a Seydou Fini cross from the right.Luca Koleosho plays for Italy in the friendly against Luxembourg (@Azzurri)Pietro Comuzzo sustained a suspected calf injury and was subbed off.His replacement, Luca Reggiani, made his senior debut coming off the bench but was sent off after just 13 minutes for a foul on Como striker Anastasios Douvikas. The incident happened in central midfield, but Reggiani was Italy’s last defender and still received his marching orders.Italy defended resolutely until the final ten minutes. Zafeiris hit the post with a powerful shot from inside the box, while Donnarumma denied Pavlidis a few minutes later.CESENA, ITALY – OCTOBER 10: Silvio Baldini head coach of Italy U21 during the UEFA Under21 EURO Qualifier betweenItaly U21 v Sweden U21 and ad hoc Arena im Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld on October 10, 2025 in Cesena, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)The Azzurri’s 1-0 win marks the end of the 2025-26 campaign in Italy. La Nazionale will return to action on September 25 in the Nations League against Belgium, while Serie A will resume on August 23.Greece 0-1 ItalyGoal: 18′ Pio EspositoGreece (3-4-1-2): Vlachodimos; Retsos, Hatzidiakos, Koulierakis (46′ Rota); Vagiannidis (76′ Tetteh), Mouzakitis (76′ Zaferis), Triantis (62′ Androutsos), Kiriakopoulos (63′ Tsimikas); Tzolis (88′ Pavlidis); Masouras (63′ Kyziridis), Douvikas (88′ Kostoulas). Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Ahanor (46′ Mane), Comuzzo (55′ Reggiani), Chiarodia, Bartesaghi; Pisilli, Lipani (74′ Dagasso), Ndour; Koleosho (87′ Faticanti), Esposito (87′ Camarda), Ekhator (46′ Fini (74′ Favasuli)).Read More