When Turkey were narrowly beaten by France and Italy lost 2:0 at home to Belgium, it would have been difficult to predict this kind of outcome in their meeting in Bursa. But it happened! Italy absolutely demolished Vincenzo Montella's side, thrashing them 4:1, and everything was clear before the half-hour mark, when the Azzurri had built a huge 3:0 lead. It could have been even more convincing, because Italy created several more chances while Turkey offered virtually nothing… And yet, it is difficult to believe this is a realistic reflection of the balance of power. Especially from Italy's perspective. The match against Belgium showed just how thin this team still is and how far they are from the top. But Turkey were absolutely dreadful. Even worse than at the World Cup, when they were eliminated after two rounds following defeats by Australia and Paraguay.GOAL! Turkey 0-3 Italy (Michael Kayode) pic.twitter.com/5X7TwsHder— Only Football (@dakinglamar007) September 28, 2026 Montella can perhaps find some excuse in the absence of key players Calhanoglu and Yıldız, who are injured, but he had everyone else available. He started with young stars Arda Guler and Can Uzun behind lone striker Barıs Yılmaz, left Ferdi Kadıoglu on the bench and relied on the Besiktas midfield pairing of Ozcan and Kokçu. Clearly, he got almost everything wrong. Unlike Roberto Mancini, who made as many as eight changes to his starting XI compared with the defeat to Belgium. Only goalkeeper Donnarumma, midfielder Tonali and forward Francesco Pio Esposito retained their places. The Azzurri coach fielded a completely new back four, with Kayode and Ruggeri on the flanks and Bastoni and Scalvini in the heart of the defence. Fagioli and Frattesi joined Tonali in midfield, while Sebastiano and Raspadori supported Esposito in attack. On paper, it was a weaker team than the one that faced Belgium, but they looked far stronger against Turkey. Or perhaps it was simply down to the Turks.GOAL! Turkey 0-1 Italy (Alessandro Bastoni) pic.twitter.com/USQJ3UQaCJ— Only Football (@dakinglamar007) September 28, 2026 Either way, Italy desperately needed a victory like this to lift the nation's spirits. On the awful, slippery pitch in Bursa, Alessandro Bastoni capitalised on a terrible defensive reaction from the hosts and opened the scoring from a corner in the ninth minute. Frattesi doubled the lead from the rebound after a brilliant Azzurri move, Kayode's shot and a weak intervention from Bayındır. Turkey were completely knocked out five minutes later when Brentford's attacking full-back Michael Kayode made it 3:0 after being played in beautifully by Pio Esposito. Italy had scored three goals inside the opening half-hour for the first time in five years.3 – L’#Italia ha vinto una trasferta con 3+ gol di scarto per la 1ª volta dal 15 novembre 2019 (3-0 vs Bosnia); inoltre, gli Azzurri sono tornati a vincere con Roberto #Mancini c.t. dopo 1198 giorni dall’ultima volta (3-2 vs Olanda, 18 giugno 2023). Ripartenza.#TurchiaItalia pic.twitter.com/w3Kdu5QzcK— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 28, 2026 The hosts were offered a glimmer of hope at the start of the second half when Yılmaz tapped into an empty net following a mistake by Donnarumma, but that was it… Italy quickly restored their three-goal advantage. Pio Esposito capped an excellent performance with a goal after the ball fell to him following Tonali's shot against the post. The Azzurri comfortably protected their lead until the final whistle, coming closer to a fifth goal than Turkey were to a second and giving the nation a victory that provides reasons for optimism. As euphoric as the Italians are, they will probably go overboard with the praise in the coming days and forget the harsh reality that constantly reminds them that they are no longer a footballing powerhouse and do not possess players of elite quality.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION AGroup 3MondayBelgium – France 0-1 (0-0)/Olise 89/Turkey – Italy 1-4 (0-3)/Yilmaz 47 – Bastoni 9, Frattesi 22, Kayode 27, Esposito 50/Tuesday21.45: (7.25) Czech R. (4.40) England (1.45)21.45: (1.30) Spain (5.50) Croatia (10.0)***odds are subject to change***—————————————————————UEFA – NATIONS LEAGUE BTuesday21.45: (3.50) Scotland (3.45) Switzerland (2.10)21.45: (1.68) Slovenia (3.60) Macedonia (5.50)***odds are subject to change***——————————————————————UEFA – NATIONS LEAGUE CTuesday19.00: (1.95) Finland (3.25) Belarus (3.80)19.00: (2.40) Moldova (3.00) Faroe I. (3.00)21.45: (1.58) Bulgaria (3.50) Estonia (6.25)21.45: (2.75) Luxembourg (3.20) Iceland (2.45)20.45: (25.0) San Marino (11.0) Albania (1.05)21.45: (1.32) Slovakia (4.50) Kazakhstan (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
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