Esposito outscoring Baggio for Italy and has best goals-per-game since 1970s
Francesco Pio Esposito scored his sixth goal for the Italy national team during Monday’s 4-1 victory away against Turkey in the Nations League, and is now scoring at a quicker rate than Roberto Baggio for the Azzurri.
Esposito grabbed Italy’s fourth on the night in an eventual 4-1 victory over Turkey on Monday evening, which takes his international tally up to six goals from 11 caps, giving him an average of 0.55 goals per game for the Azzurri.
Including all players to have scored at least six goals for Italy, this makes Esposito the 13th-most efficient goalscorer in the history of the national team. It also means he has the best goalscoring record for the Nazionale of any player since the Gigi Riva 1970s.
Esposito’s rate of 0.55 goals per game for Italy is also better than Roberto Baggio’s record of 0.48 per game.
Average goals per game for Italy
* Players to have scored at least six goals for the Italy national team
Annibale Frossi (1936-37), eight goals from five caps – 1.60 goals per game
Omar Sivori (1961-62), eight goals from nine caps – 0.89 goals per game
Julio Libonatti (1926-1931), 15 goals from 17 caps – 0.88 goals per game
Silvio Piola (1935-1952), 30 goals from 34 caps – 0.88 goals per game
Gigi Riva (1965-1974), 35 goals from 42 caps – 0.83 goals per game
Giovanni Moscardini (1921-1925), 15 goals from 21 caps – 0.78 goals per game
Angelo Schiavio (1935-1934), 15 goals from 21 caps – 0.71 goals per game
Gino Rossetti (1927-1930), nine goals from 13 caps – 0.69 goals per game
Paolo Barison (1958-1966), six goals from nine caps – 0.67 goals per game
Riccardo Carapelese (1947-1956), 10 goals from 16 caps – 0.63 goals per game
Giuseppe Meazza (1930-1939), 33 goals from 53 caps – 0.62 goals per game
Gino Colaussi (1935-1940), 15 goals from 26 caps – 0.58 goals per game
Pio Esposito (2025-), six goals from 11 caps – 0.55 goals per game
Amedeo Amadei (1949-1953), seven goals from 13 caps – 0.54 goals per game
Adolfo Baloncieri (1920-1930), 25 goals from 47 caps – 0.53 goals per game
Pierino Prati (1968-1974), seven goals from 14 caps – 0.50 goals per game
Roberto Baggio (1988-2004), 37 goals from 56 caps – 0.48 goals per game
Moise Kean (2018-), 13 goals from 27 caps – 0.48 goals per game
Ezio Pascutti (1958-1967), eight goals from 17 caps 0.47 goals per game
Christian Vieri (1997-2005), 23 goals from 49 caps – 0.47 goals per game
