Australian soccer has a dazzling new star to follow, with teenager Antonio Arena making a stunning - and immediate - impact for Italian side Roma.
The 16-year-old was brought off the bench to make his club debut in the 80th minute of Roma's Italian Cup clash against Torino, and scored with his first touch for the Serie A side.
He calmly rose to head the ball past Torino goalkeeper Alberto Paleari to level the scores at 2-2 in the 81st minute of their round-of-16 match on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
Despite the young Aussie's eye-catching heroics, Torino clinched a 3-2 victory thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Emirhan Ilkhan.
After the match, Arena's game earned glowing praise from Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
"I’m happy about these very young players: one is 16 years old and it’s an important process for him,'' Gasperini said.
"He (Arena) is certainly a player who has a great competitive drive, despite his young age. He has a lot of energy to offer and he’s not afraid to put himself out there. He’s already playing for national youth teams.''
Arena, who was born in Sydney, has dual citizenship and has represented both Australia and Italy at youth international level.
After fine-tuning his skills as a youngster with A-League Men side Western Sydney Wanderers, Arena made the big move to join Italian club Pescara.
The young Aussie made his senior and professional debut with Pescara last year in a 4-1 Serie C win over Lucchese, scoring the side's fourth goal.
At 16 years and 25 days old, he became the first 2009-born player to score in professional football in Italy, and also the youngest ever goalscorer for Pescara.
In July 2025, Arena signed with Serie A side Roma, making his debut on Tuesday against Torino.
The young Australian is no stranger to the international stage.
In 2024 he made his debut for the Australian under-16 side in a friendly 4-3 win over Switzerland.
The following year he was called up to represent the Italian under-16 team in a series of international friendlies.
