Pio Esposito: ‘It has all happened so quickly’ with Italy and Inter success

Francesco Pio Esposito admits ‘it has all happened so quickly’ after scoring his second senior Italy goal in the 2-0 victory over Moldova, and now hopes to score at San Siro.

The players were able to see the result from Norway before taking to the field, so knew the 4-1 victory over Estonia made it impossible to take first place in Group I.

That perhaps affected the mentality of the Azzurri in Chisinau, as the strong start dissipated with wasted chances and dominated possession.

It wasn’t until the 88th minute that Gianluca Mancini found the breakthrough, with Inter striker Pio Esposito adding the second in stoppages.

“Regardless of the Norway result, these are your classic games away from home against a team pinned into their own half where if you don’t break the deadlock, it starts to drag on, but we never gave up and found the way through,” Esposito told Sky Sport Italia.

This was the second senior Italy goal for the striker, who only celebrated his 20th birthday in June and has gone from strength to strength.

“It has all happened so quickly. Just four months ago I was playing in Serie B with Spezia, then the Club World Cup happened, Inter and Italy. So I need to keep my feet on the ground, maintain my balance, remember where I started from in case there’s a spell where I don’t score goals, but also never stop trying to be stronger.”

It is now mathematically certain that Norway win the group and Italy will enter the play-offs for the 2026 World Cup, starting with the semi-final in March 2026.

“Both Gattuso and Chivu have shown faith in me and I can only try to repay them on the field,” concluded Esposito.

“I don’t know if I am playing on Sunday, I am ready if the coach wants to give me 5, 10 or 80 minutes. I still haven’t scored at San Siro, so I hope to break that soon, whether it’s for Italy or Inter.”