In the early morning of October 15 (Vietnam time), the Italian team hosted Israel in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League A group stage.
The Northern team won 4-1, thereby maintaining the top spot in Group A2 with 10 points, 1 point more than the French team - the team that won 2-1 on the field of the Belgian team.
In the joy of the Azzurri's victory, a highlight was the appearance of Daniel Maldini, when he came on as a replacement for Giacomo Raspadori when the official playing time was 16 minutes.
Daniel is the son of Paolo Maldini, Cesare Maldini's grandson. That means for the first time in history, three generations in a family have one worn the Italian national team jersey.
Paolo was present at the Bluenergy stand in Udine to watch the match.
"It was a strong and positive feeling," Maldini Jr. said.
"I was very happy to have entered the stadium and the match went well. I am happy that my parents came to see. I will talk to them when I get home."
Like his grandfather Cesar and father Paolo, Daniel grew up in AC Milan's training center, was promoted to the Rossoneri first team since 2020 and has played 15 matches.
The 2001-born attacking midfielder has been on loan to Spezia, Empoli and Monza for the past two years, before his contract with Monza was officially transferred in July this year.
This 2024-2025 season, Daniel Maldini has made 7 appearances for Monza. The member of the U18, U19, and U20 Italy teams was called up to the national team for the first time this October and made his debut match.
At first, Daniel also played as a defender like Paolo and Cesare, but gradually moved to the role of an attacking midfielder in accordance with his organizational skills, dribbling, control and tactical vision.
Legendary Paolo Maldini played for the Italian national team from 1988 to 2002, with a total of 126 matches (scoring 7 goals).
Meanwhile, Cesare Maldini only played for the national team for 3 years (from 1960 to 1963), with 14 matches. He passed away in April 2016.
