Italy made a statement in difficult conditions, brushing aside Turkey despite torrential rain and a heavily damaged pitch. Roberto Mancini's side raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 27 minutes, ruthlessly exploiting a succession of defensive mistakes from the hosts.

The Azzurri arrived looking to respond after their 0-2 defeat to Belgium, and they could hardly have asked for a better start. Merih Demiral Çelik lost track of Alessandro Bastoni from a corner, allowing the Italian defender to punish Turkey's poor marking.

The second goal was another gift. Davide Frattesi reacted quickest after Altay Bayındır spilled the ball, turning Turkey's goalkeeper's error into a comfortable finish.

The third goal brought another memorable moment as debutant Michael Kayode got his name on the scoresheet, giving Italy a commanding advantage before the half-hour mark.

Turkey responded after the interval and pulled one goal back through Barış Alper Yılmaz, with Gianluigi Donnarumma unable to prevent the hosts from capitalising on his mistake.

Any hopes of a comeback, however, disappeared when another error from Bayındır led to Sandro Tonali striking the post. Pio Esposito reacted quickest to the rebound and headed home to restore Italy's three-goal cushion.

UEFA Nations League 2026-27

Türkiye - Italy 1:4 (0:3)
Goals: Bastoni, 9 (0:1); Frattesi, 22 (0:2); Kayode M., 27 (0:3); Yılmaz B., 47 (1:3); Pio Esposito, 50 (1:4)

Türkiye: Bayındır; Çelik; Demiral (Bardakçı, 46); Elmali; Kabak; Özcan Sa. (Tıknaz, 76); Kökçü (Yüksek, 46); Güler A.; Uzun (Aktürkoglu, 46); Aydin O.; Yılmaz B. (Gül D., 80)
Substitution: Bardakçı (from 46); Yüksek (from 46); Aktürkoglu (from 46); Tıknaz (from 76); Gül D. (from 80)
Bench: Şengezer; Kocuk; Akaydin; Kahveci I.; Akgün Y.; Kadioglu; Eskihellaç
Yellow Cards: Uzun 38; Yılmaz B. 54; Kabak 72

Italy: Donnarumma G.; Kayode M.; Ruggeri; Scalvini; Bastoni; Tonali; Fagioli (Romano, 76); Frattesi (Di Lorenzo, 82); Pio Esposito (Scamacca, 75); Raspadori (Cambiaghi, 46); Esposito Se. (Doumbia, 63)
Substitution: Cambiaghi (from 46); Doumbia (from 63); Scamacca (from 75); Romano (from 76); Di Lorenzo (from 82)
Bench: Carnesecchi; Vicario G.; Calafiori; Ghilardi; Mandragora; Vergara A.; Kean M.