Silvio Baldini makes it two from two as coach of the senior national team . Two narrow away wins for the Young Italy team led by the Tuscan coach, thanks to two goals from Pio Esposito , who, after his goal against Luxembourg, also scored in Crete against Greece and is poised to become the center forward of the future. On the day Daniele Franceschini's Under-17 team won the European title on penalties against Belgium, these small signs at least leave a glimmer of hope for a path that, starting with the appointment of the next coach, will once again have to be rebuilt.
Nine of the Azzurri's 11 starters for the match against Luxembourg started: the two differences were Ahanor for Favasuli and Ekhator for Cherubini. Chiarodia and Comuzzo were at the center of defense, with Ahanor and Bartesaghi on the flanks, Lipani in midfield supported by Ndour and Pisilli, and Ekhator and Koleosho supporting Esposito. Donnarumma, of course, was in goal. At the other end, the main threat was Como center forward Douvikas. The first chance fell to the Genoa striker, who fired wide in the fourth minute following a beautiful through ball from Comuzzo. The Azzurri started better, but only in the 16th minute did Douvikas test Donnarumma for the first time on the counterattack.
But shortly after, in the 18th minute, Pio Esposito broke the deadlock, confirming Italy's initial control: Ekhator crossed low, the Inter striker controlled, turned, fired, and—thanks to a deflection—beat Vlachodimos. The first half continued along the same lines as the opening half, with few flashes of brilliance: in the 37th minute, Esposito entered the box and thwarted a shot that fell easily to the Greek goalkeeper, giving him the best chance. In the second half, Baldini made two changes from the start: Mané and Fini came on for Ahanor (booked) and Ekhator. Ready, go, and Italy got off to a strong start with a Koleosho shot deflected for a corner, and a minute later, the same winger hit the crossbar from a cross from substitute Fini. In the 10th minute of the second half, Comuzzo threw in a hamstring injury and made way for debutant Reggiani.
The Borussia Dortmund defender himself was sent off in the 23rd minute of the second half for holding Douvikas as the last man on a long ball from the opposing goalkeeper. Italy had to roll up their sleeves; the cooling-off period could allow Baldini to regroup, and he pointed to Koleosho's 3-4-2 formation. Favasuli came on for Fini—who was quickly consoled by the coach for his limited playing time—and Dagasso came on for Lipani. The center of gravity dropped, although an inspired Ndour gave his team a few windows of breathing space with his forward runs. In the 39th minute of the second half, Zafeiris pounced on a rebound from a cross and unleashed a powerful right-footer at the near post, but the woodwork denied him the equalizer. Two minutes later, Favasuli took on the defender from the flank, shot, and forced Vlachodimos to put it out for a corner.
