BURSA, Turkey – Italy produced an explosive opening half-hour blitz to claim a commanding 4-1 away victory over Türkiye at the Bursa Metropolitan Stadium, handing head coach Roberto Mancini the first triumph of his second tenure in charge of the Azzurri in their UEFA Nations League League A Group 1 fixture, international sports correspondents monitored in Bursa on Monday night, September 28, 2026.
The win successfully revived Italy’s Nations League campaign following their disappointing 2-0 home defeat against Belgium on Friday, moving the four-time world champions level on three points with the Belgians and three points adrift of group leaders France, who edged Belgium 1-0 in Brussels.
Okay News reports that Mancini’s men dismantled their hosts inside the opening 27 minutes of play, marking the first time the Azzurri had registered three goals in the opening half-hour of an international match since a World Cup qualifying victory against Lithuania in September 2021.
Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni initiated the scoring surge in the ninth minute, reacting quickest to an uncleared left-wing corner to turn the ball on the slide into the roof of the net past Turkish goalkeeper Altay Bayındır.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute through an incisive combination on the edge of the Turkish penalty area, where a stinging drive from senior debutant Michael Kayode was parried by Bayındır straight into the path of Davide Frattesi, who swept home the loose ball from close range.
Just five minutes later, Kayode capped a dream international debut by adding Italy’s third, receiving a clever layoff from Francesco Pio Esposito following build-up play orchestrated by Giacomo Raspadori before slotting a low drive into the bottom corner.
Türkiye, led by Italian manager Vincenzo Montella—who had publicly predicted before kick-off that his side would comfortably overcome Italy—responded with intent after the interval, halving the deficit within 76 seconds of the restart when Barış Alper Yılmaz capitalized on an errant clearance by Gianluigi Donnarumma to convert Oğuz Aydın’s cross.
However, the hosts surrendered their momentum barely three minutes later when a misplaced distribution pass by Bayındır was intercepted by Sandro Tonali, whose curling effort struck the base of the upright before Francesco Pio Esposito rose to head the rebound into an empty net.
The fixture also marked a historic family milestone in Italian football history as Francesco Pio Esposito and forward Sebastiano Esposito became the fourth pair of brothers to represent Italy in the same senior international match, joining the legendary lineages of Filippo and Simone Inzaghi in 2000, Aldo and Luigi Cevenini in 1915, and Giuseppe and Felice Milano in 1913.
Türkiye pushed aggressively to alter the scoreline in the closing quarter, but had an effort from Yılmaz disallowed for offside against Arda Güler before Kerem Aktürkoğlu wasted a clear opening, allowing Italy to comfortably navigate the closing stages ahead of their high-profile clash with France at the Stade de France on Friday.
