Pio Esposito says he wanted to make up for his brother's penalty miss

Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro. The team started poorly and conceded to Michael Olise within 10 minutes, after a mistake by Gianluigi Donnarumma while building up play.

Pio Esposito levelled the score by directing Nicolò Cambiaghi's cross into the net at the near post. Sebastiano Esposito then struck a penalty that went wide. Davide Frattesi put Italy ahead with an assist from Federico Dimarco. After the referee again pointed to the spot, Pio Esposito sent the ball into the net.

The 21-year-old striker has scored nine goals in 14 matches for the national team. Pio Esposito said he felt responsible for erasing his brother's error from the penalty, and that the missed kick was also hard for him. Noting that both players' names were on the team sheet, the striker reminded everyone that Sebastiano is the player who has scored the most goals from penalties in his career.

Pio Esposito had missed a penalty in the World Cup play-off match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said this made the pressure feel greater, and when he stepped up to take the penalty, the first thing that came to his mind was Bosnia. He stressed that missing a penalty is possible and that one has to move on.

Italy are currently top of their Nations League group. Two months ago, the team lost 2-0 at home to Belgium.