Italy pick love rivals for 1st time - Zaccagni plays alongside wife's ex Zaniolo

Italy got their Euro 2023 qualifying campaign back on track on Tuesday night but celebrations between Nicolo Zaniolo and Mattia Zaccagni may have been slightly awkward.

The duo were selected in the Azzurri's starting XI for the 2-1 win over Ukraine at the San Siro, with the Aston Villa forward ne of several changes from the side that drew 1-1 with North Macedonia on Saturday.

Zaccagni, meanwhile, retained his spot as he won his third international cap for Italy.

The relationship between the pair is somewhat complicated by the fact Zaccagni's wife, influencer Chiara Nasti, used to date former Roma star Zaniolo.

After the pair slit up in April of 2021, Nasti began dating the Lazio winger. The pair welcomed their son Thiago in November last year and were married two months ago.

The love triangle hit the headlines in May of last year, after Roma fans serenaded Zaniolo with a chant claiming 'Zaccagni's son is Zaniolo's' during the parade following the Giallorossi's Europa Conference League triumph.

The Italy international scored the winner in the final against Feyenoord as Roma claimed their first European trophy in six decades.

Thousands of Giallorossi fans lined up the streets of Rome to welcome the team home and Zaniolo clearly seemed to enjoy the chant, with footage showing him laughing along with the derogatory lyrics.

Nasti, unsurprisingly, did not appreciate the chants and was forced to turn off the comments on her social media profile.

The former Roma forward does have a child with ex-girlfriend Sara Scaperotta, but they broke up when she was pregnant in 2021.

Just days later, Zaniolo and Zaccagni were called up to the Italy squad by then-manager Roberto Mancini for a clash against Argentina.

Zaniolo's withdrawal led to