Double debut: BVB's Mane and Inacio make Italy debut | OneFootball

Things are not going well for football in Italy at the moment. At the upcoming World Cup, the country will only be watching from the sidelines. A rebuild of the national team is underway – with a pleasing outcome for two young Borussia Dortmund players.

On Wednesday evening (June 3), the hosts welcomed the Squadra Azzurra to the Stade de Luxembourg. Interim coach Silvio Baldini (67), who most recently managed his country’s U21 side, almost completely did without established senior internationals for the friendly. Instead, he sent out Italy’s youngest starting eleven in 114 years. With an average age of just 21 years and 354 days, the Azzurri nearly matched the historic record set in an international against Austria in 1912 (then 21 years and 308 days).

The Southern Europeans’ starting lineup included no fewer than eight debutants. For the two Dortmund players Filippo Mane (21) and Samuele Inácio (18), there was initially only a place on the bench. Only three players in the starting eleven had senior international experience: goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (27) of Manchester City, midfielder Niccolò Pisilli (21/AS Roma), and Inter striker Pio Esposito (20). It was Esposito, in fact, who scored the only goal of the match after 49 minutes.

Reggiani to feature against Greece?

But two Dortmund players in the ranks of the four-time world champions also had a moment to celebrate. Mane came on after 76 minutes for Pietro Comuzzo (21/AC Fiorentina). Later, Inácio followed him onto the pitch, replacing Luca Koleosho (21/Paris FC) in stoppage time.

Photo: Getty Images

The third young BVB professional, however, did not get onto the pitch. Luca Reggiani (18), who had also received his first call-up, had to spend the full 90 minutes on the bench. But on Sunday (June 7), the centre-back will get his next chance to make his debut in the national team shirt. Greece then hosts Italy at 9 p.m.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.