Why Italy allowed 20-year-old Esposito to take first penalty in Bosnia shoot-out

Some questions were raised over the decision to let 20-year-old Pio Esposito step up and take the first penalty in Italy’s shoot-out against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of their World Cup play-off final, but reports on Sunday indicate that the coaches had not originally intended for the Inter youngster to go first. 

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Why did Esposito take Italy’s first penalty in World Cup play-off final?

Italy missed out on qualification for the World Cup for the third tournament in a row after a defeat on penalties against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica on Tuesday night, after playing the entirety of the second half and extra-time with 10 men. 

Esposito missed the first penalty in the shoot-out, Bryan Cristante struck the crossbar with Italy’s third, and as Bosnia had successfully converted all of their first four, that was enough to send the Azzurri packing for the third tournament cycle in a row. 

Esposito was Italy’s only natural centre-forward on the pitch by the time that penalties came around. Mateo Retegui had started, but was sacrificed to make way for centre-back Federico Gatti after centre-back Alessandro Bastoni was sent off just before half time. Moise Kean was also brought off in the second half in a like-for-like swap with Esposito.

Despite being the only centre-forward on the pitch, the original plan was for Esposito to go third in the penalty shoot-out according to reports from SportMediaset and Corriere della Sera. 

However, according to the latest reports, it was Esposito himself who volunteered to take the first pressure penalty, and the Italy coaching staff decided against opposing him so as not to affect his psychology going into the shoot-out.