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Samuele Inacio Italy 2026Getty Images
Emanuele Tramacere
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Italy, zero minutes in four matches for Samuele Inacio: what happens now? Are Brazil still in the running?

Italy
S. Inacio
Brazil

The great expectation for the Borussia Dortmund striker’s “anti-poaching” debut did not arrive

Italy under Roberto Mancini continued their progress with another win over Turkey, this time 3-1 at home, to stay firmly in the race for qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals. The match brought the curtain down on a run of four consecutive games in this long international break, during which plenty of players were handed chances and minutes. Among those called up by the Italy head coach, there was huge anticipation over the first senior Azzurri appearance for one of the youngest and most talked-about talents eligible for Italy: Samuele Inacio.

Instead, across those four matches, the 2008-born forward was called up only once, for tonight's game against Turkey, but did not play a single minute, so the "anti-swoop" debut never arrived. But what happens now?

  • Mancini’s words

    Recent press conferences had already made one thing clear: Mancini still did not see him as 100 per cent ready in the way the others who had made their debut were. The Italy manager ruled out any change of nationality without even the certainty of giving him playing time, stressing that he still needs to find more space before being "ready for Italy".

    "I know that Inacio is a lad who needs to make appearances to be 'ours' and so that he does not think about going elsewhere in another shirt. But I believe he is already... tied down because he has gone through all the Italy youth teams. If we think he can come in and play, that is wrong, because he needs to be given time: he is a lad who also physically still has to develop. But he has important qualities."

  • What happens now?

    In the end, Inacio did not get his chance. Vergara's late injury and the tactical switch that sent Scamacca on for Pio Esposito shut the door on the "gift" of a debut, which would also have carried double value from an "anti-poaching" perspective. It should not be forgotten, in fact, that Samuele is the son of Inacio Pia, the former Brazilian striker who played for Napoli and Atalanta among others.

    Without an appearance in an official match, which would have put the brakes on things for the next three years, Brazil could still convince the striker to answer a call-up from the national team managed by Carlo Ancelotti. Mancini spoke of "fidelisation" and the player has always said he dreams of defending Italy's colours, but the prospect of him being poached, at least on paper, still remains possible.

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