Italy Beat Greece 1-0 As Esposito Scores Again Under Interim Coach Baldini

Italy claimed a second straight win under interim head coach Silvio Baldini, edging Greece 1-0 at Pankritio Stadio as Francesco Pio Esposito struck again. The youthful Azzurri side controlled long spells, yet needed discipline after Luca Reggiani’s dismissal, with Gianluigi Donnarumma and the woodwork preserving a clean sheet against an experienced Greece team.

Esposito’s decisive first-half finish extended a striking personal run at international level. The Inter forward became only the fourth player to score in each of a first three starts for Italy, joining Omar Enrique Sivori, Riccardo Carapellese and Annibale Frossi, while also moving to five goals for the national team before turning 21.

Italy’s bright opening brought reward on 18 minutes. Esposito expertly shielded the ball from Jeff Ekhator inside the box, then guided a precise shot into the bottom-left corner. The same striker nearly doubled the advantage shortly before half-time, receiving a pass from Davide Bartesaghi, but Odysseas Vlachodimos reacted sharply and blocked the low effort.

Baldini had urged calm and expression before kick-off, asking the squad to play with freedom despite another youthful line-up. That message appeared to land as Italy, coming off a win over Luxembourg with their youngest starting side since December 1912, again displayed composure in possession and discipline without the ball for long periods of the contest.

Italy started the second half quickly and should have extended the lead. Seydou Fini picked out Luca Koleosho at the back post, yet the winger’s strike crashed against the crossbar with Vlachodimos beaten. That near miss kept Greece in touch and set up a tense closing spell, especially once the hosts gained a numerical advantage.

The match changed on 68 minutes when Reggiani, on international debut, pulled down Tasos Douvikas as last defender, receiving a red card after only 13 minutes on the pitch. Greece finally threatened more consistently, with Christos Zafeiris hitting the right post from distance and Vangelis Pavlidis denied by Donnarumma two minutes from time.

Esposito’s contribution went beyond the winning goal. The striker recorded team-high numbers for shots, with three, and chances created, also three, while winning four fouls that eased pressure during the closing minutes. Italy produced an expected goals figure of 1.16 from 10 attempts, compared with Greece’s xG of 0.5 from six efforts on Donnarumma’s goal.

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Silvio Baldini’s short tenure has now delivered two victories and another confident display, even with Reggiani’s dismissal disrupting plans. It remains uncertain whether Baldini will lead Italy into the Nations League in September, with reports linking Antonio Conte to a return, but this result provided further evidence of progress from Italy’s emerging generation.

Italy’s narrow victory over Greece highlighted a composed performance from Baldini’s side and another decisive strike from Esposito. Despite playing the final 22 minutes with 10 players, Italy restricted Greece to limited clear chances, matched their physical approach, and left Pankritio Stadio with both another clean sheet and growing confidence ahead of the autumn schedule.