Brentford defender, Michael Kayode, described his senior Italy debut as a dream after scoring and providing an assist in the Azzurri’s 4-1 Nations League win over Turkey.
The 22-year-old made his first appearance for Italy’s senior team in Bursa and quickly made his mark as Italy responded to their previous defeat with a convincing victory.
Kayode’s first attempt was saved, but Davide Frattesi converted the rebound to put Italy ahead before the right-back added a second goal with his first for the national team.
“I didn’t expect my debut to go like this, so I am really happy,” Kayode said.
The Brentford defender said Italy were determined to respond strongly to their previous setback, particularly in a challenging atmosphere in Turkey.
“We played in the first half with a fantastic simplicity and determination. We wanted to really prove ourselves in a difficult match in an incredible stadium atmosphere, so winning here was fantastic,” he added.
Kayode was eligible to play for Nigeria and confirmed that the country had approached him over a possible switch.
However, the defender, who progressed through Italy’s youth teams, said he never considered changing his international allegiance.
“It was a very easy decision. I went through all the youth teams here. Nigeria approached me, but I never thought about changing national teams,” he told Football Italia.
“I think Italy have always been a great national team, and playing here is an honour.”
Kayode joined Brentford on a €500,000 loan deal from Fiorentina in January 2025, with the Premier League club later making the transfer permanent for €17.5m.
