In a game with four goals it was the pick of the bunch.

Italy were 2-0 up against Estonia as the match in Tallinn was entering the final quarter hour.

Gennaro Gattuso’s men had wasted a stream of chances to put the game beyond their hosts and while there was no serious fear of an Estonian comeback, one goal was needed to kill off any lingering hope.

It arrived in the 73rd minute. Napoli full-back Leonardo Spinazzola had possession on the left and sent his pass in to the feet of Nicolo Barella. He took one touch to control the ball and one more to stab it forward with the top of his foot, back to Spinazzola who had darted in behind Estonia’s Rasmus Peetson.

Former Juventus and Atalanta full-back Spinazzola is enjoying a renaissance under Antonio Conte at Napoli and Gattuso was impressed by his eagerness to play for his country despite not being first choice.

Spinazzola sent a left-foot cross into the box towards Francesco Pio Esposito, who dispatched the ball first-time with a tricky finish. Hitting it with the outside of his foot, there was a real chance the Inter striker could have fluffed his lines.

But, he did not, and the youngest of the Esposito brothers secured all three points for the Azzurri. It was a great moment for Esposito and capped off an excellent year for the 20-year-old.

Esposito is quickly blossoming into one of Italy’s most exciting prospects and any reader of these pages familiar with Serie B will not be surprised.

Sent on loan to Spezia, the striker, along with brother Salvatore, catapulted them towards the top of the Serie B table.

Francesco’s 19 goals in Serie B earned him the Pablito award for top scorer as the Ligurian side finished third. They then faltered at the death, losing to Cremonese in the play-off final where Esposito’s goal in the second leg at home was too little too late.

On returning to Inter in the summer there was some trepidation of what was to come next. Italy’s track record with young talents, or lack thereof, is well known. A lack of trust, the endless loan spells and the inclusion of players as makeweights in bigger deals has down the years cost Italian clubs, and the national side, dearly.

There was talk of yet another loan for Esposito but, credit to Inter where it is due, when the deal for Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman collapsed, they did not panic and buy an alternative.

Cristian Chivu had given Esposito a taste of first-team action in the USA at the Club World Cup and the Romanian was clearly impressed with what he saw. 

The Inter of old would have pivoted to a plan B once the Lookman deal vanished. Chivu instead looked within and the player himself wasted little time.

He stabbed home Federico Dimarco’s cross against Cagliari in late September to score his first competitive goal in black and blue.

That effort and the one for his country pointed to a top striker in the making. Esposito showed great positional play, especially against Estonia, by pulling away from his marker and freeing up enough space to convert the cross.

La Gazzetta dello Sport has compared him to the prolific Alessandro Altobelli. Spillo, as he was known, goes somewhat under the radar in the pantheon of great Italian bombers but was exceptionally clinical for Inter throughout most of the 1980s. 

Further comparisons to Roberto Bettega, Christian Vieri, Vincenzo Montella and Luca Toni have been made. 

The truth is Esposito is none of them and comparisons at this stage do not serve him. For now he should be left alone to play his football and improve.

“It was a great goal,” said his older brother Salvatore about the Estonia strike. “But he has these shots in his locker. I’ve seen him score lots of goals like this in training, shooting difficult balls and getting difficult angles and trajectories right. He works hard and always tries to improve.”

With Inter in multiple competitions this season there will be plenty of room for Esposito to develop his game. 

Moreover, with Italy having a striker shortage and Moise Kean suffering injury against Estonia, Esposito may be given a chance from the off against Israel in Udine.

And you would not bet against him scoring again.