Internationals: six Nerazzurri involved, goals for Bastoni and Akanji

The 2026 World Cup qualifiers continued on Friday night, with six Nerazzurri players in action: Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Barella, Francesco Pio Esposito, Manuel Akanji, and Petar Sucic.

Italy had a resounding 5-0 win over Estonia, which featured a Retegui brace, along with goals from Kean, Raspadori, and Inter's very own Bastoni. Our four Azzurri were all heavily involved: Bastoni, Barella and Dimarco were named in the starting line-up by coach Gennaro Gattuso. The former two played the full 90 minutes, with Bastoni scoring the fifth and final goal. Dimarco was substituted in the 67th minute. It was an unforgettable evening for Pio Esposito, who made his senior national team debut, coming on in the 84th minute. Davide Frattesi was not included. Following the win, Italy move up to third place in Group I with six points.

Manuel Akanji was a key player in Switzerland's 4-0 victory over Kosovo. The other goals came from Embolo, who scored a brace, and Widmer. The Swiss won their Group B debut.

Petar Sucic's Croatia also earned three points, with a narrow away win against the Faroe Islands as Kramaric's goal in the 31st minute proved the winner. The Nerazzurri midfielder played the entire match. Croatia remain in second place in Group L with nine points.

Marcus Thuram's France also won 2-0 in Ukraine thanks to goals from Olise and Mbappé. The French striker was not included in the squad for coach Deschamps.