Italian press praises young Azzurri after convincing revenge over Belgium

After a painful 0-2 defeat to Belgium, Italy under the leadership of Roberto Mancini secured a convincing 1-4 victory over Turkey on Monday evening. The young faces in the Azzurri, including debutant Michael Kayode and Pio Esposito, attracted the attention of the Italian press.

Press reaction to the young Azzurri

La Gazetta dello Sport wrote: ‘A wonderful evening in Turkey. Almost magical. Italy has not played like this for a long time, and it was not easy after the terrible evening against Belgium.’ The newspaper especially praised the young Azzurri and Mancini’s innovative approach. The general conclusion of the newspapers is that Italy has recovered, although there is still a long way to go.

Individual compliments

Corriere della Sera gave Michael Kayode a rating of eight and praised the Brentford‑defender as the best on the pitch, emphasizing that the coach (Mancini) is as inspired as in the good old days: formation, substitutions, tactical variations. Kayode delivered an excellent defensive performance which, according to the newspaper, is partly thanks to Mancini’s tactics. Sandro Tonali, Davide Frattesi, Giacomo Raspadori and Pio Esposito each received a 7.5.

Italy top of the group for Euro 2028 with win over Turkey

Tuttosport focused on Pio Esposito and described his performance as ‘worthy of a true, modern striker’, with passes, assists and ball control. The magazine gave him an eight and the label ‘indemoniato’, loosely translated: unleashed. La Repubblica noted that the team is not the Oranje of the seventies, but also not a Borgorosso, a fictional Italian side with clumsy amateurs. The staff will have to continue experimenting with the young talents to find the consistency needed for the upcoming qualifying matches.