Esposito is ready to earn a starting spot in Italy–France tomorrow night. Corriere dello Sport highlights how, for the young Nerazzurri striker, this is an opportunity that could be worth another page in history.
The numbers speak for themselves: in just over a year, Pio has scored 7 goals in 13 appearances with the Azzurri shirt, averaging one goal every 100.8 minutes over a total of 706 minutes played. This scoring frequency puts him ahead of names like Piola (30 goals in 34 matches, one every 103 minutes) and Riva (35 goals in 42 appearances, one every 106). Considering the minutes-per-goal ratio, among strikers with at least 10 caps for the national team, the only one to have done better is Enrico Chiesa: with 17 appearances, Federico’s father scored 7 goals, one every 91 minutes.
A possible goal tomorrow at San Siro would open up even more ambitious record scenarios. At 21 years and 137 days old, Esposito could set another record: only Vieri, in 1998, had scored more in his first 14 appearances for the Azzurri. The comparison also extends to Meazza, who scored his eighth goal for Italy in 1931 at the age of 20 years and 155 days.
A progression that, match after match, continues to place the young Nerazzurri striker in increasingly illustrious company in the history of Italian football.
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