Como vs. Inter: complete guide to the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg — and more

The Coppa Italia is back: Inter are set to face Como away from home in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final tie between the sides, with kick-off at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia scheduled for 21:00 CET on Tuesday 3 March.

The Nerazzurri reached the semi-finals after a 5-1 win over Venezia in the round of 16 in December and a 2-1 victory over Torino in the quarter-finals in February. Como, meanwhile, have had a longer road to the last four, starting their Coppa Italia campaign in the first round in August. To reach the semi-finals, the Lariani knocked out Südtirol, Sassuolo, Fiorentina, and Napoli.

The clash between Como and Inter promises to be an intriguing one, with a place in the final at the Olimpico in Rome at stake. Unlike previous rounds, the semi-finals are played over two legs. If the tie is level after 180 minutes, extra time will be played, followed by penalties if necessary.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Inter and Como have met nine times in the Coppa Italia. The record stands at six wins for the Nerazzurri and three draws. Their first encounter dates back to 1968, while the most recent meeting in Italy's national cup competition came in the round of 16 in 1991. The first leg at San Siro ended 2-2, with Inter winning 2-1 in the return fixture in Como thanks to goals from Berti and Klinsmann. That match at the Sinigaglia remains the last time Como and Inter faced each other outside of Serie A. The two teams will meet again in the Coppa Italia 34 years and 79 days on from that encounter.

Inter have won five of the seven Coppa Italia matches they've played in Como (with two draws), including the two most recent meetings. Como will contest a Coppa Italia semi-final for only the second time in their history, following their two-legged tie against Sampdoria in the 1985/86 season.

THE NERAZZURRI'S FORM

Inter are the team from the top five European leagues that have won the most away games this season across all competitions while keeping a clean sheet: twelve times in total, including seven of their last eight (L1).

The Coppa Italia has also delivered some excellent stats for Inter. They are the only team in the tournament to have scored more than one goal from outside the box this season (two – Esposito and Thuram against Venezia). Furthermore, Como (eight) and Inter (four) are the sides with the most first-half goals so far in this edition of the competition. However, while the Lariani have conceded two in the opening 45 minutes, the Nerazzurri haven’t shipped a single goal in the first half.

The clash is also interesting when it comes to headers: Inter have scored the most headed goals in Serie A this campaign (14), while Como are one of three teams to have conceded the fewest goals in this manner in the league so far (just two, the same as Inter and Roma).

LONG-RANGE GOAL SPECIALISTS

The tie features the three Serie A players who have scored the most goals from outside the box across all competitions since August: Nico Paz (five), Piotr Zielinski (four), and Hakan Çalhanoglu (four).

UNSTOPPABLE DIMARCO

Federico Dimarco (83 – 38 shots and 45 chances created) ranks third in terms of shot participations across the top five European leagues in 2026, behind only Lamine Yamal (100) and Deniz Undav (84)

Federico Dimarco (22, seven goals and 15 assists) and Alessandro Bastoni (eight, two goals and six assists) are the two Serie A defenders who have been involved in the most goals since August across all competitions.

OPPONENTS: COMO

Fresh off a 3-1 win over Lecce (goals from Douvikas, Rodriguez, and Kempf), Cesc Fàbregas' Como have leapfrogged Juventus in the Serie A standings, moving up to fifth place with 48 points – one more than the Bianconeri. With 46 goals scored, the Larians have the third-best attack in the league behind Inter and Juventus. At the other end, they have the second-best defensive record with just 20 goals conceded, level with AC Milan and just one more than Roma.

In their last five league matches, Fabregas' side have beaten Lecce and Juventus, drawn with Atalanta and AC Milan, and lost to Fiorentina. In the Coppa Italia, Como have had a long journey, starting from the first round: they defeated Südtirol 3-1 in August (Douvikas brace, Da Cunha) before knocking out Sassuolo with a 3-0 victory thanks to a Rodriguez brace and a goal from Douvikas. The Lariani then eliminated Fiorentina in the round of 16 (3-1, goals from Sergi Roberto, Nico Paz, and Morata), followed by a 7-6 penalty shootout victory over Napoli after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes (Baturina scoring).

Como are known for their possession-based, attacking style, and Fabregas sets his side up in a 4-2-3-1 system that relies on the skill and imagination of his players. Greek forward Tasos Douvikas leads the scoring charts with twelve goals across all competitions, followed by Nico Paz on ten.

DISCIPLINARY SITUATION

SUSPENDED Como: -Inter: -

ONE BOOKING AWAY FROM SUSPENSION Como: Diego Carlos, Kühn, Morata, Paz, Ramón J., Roberto S., Van der Brempt Inter: Esposito, Kamate, Sucic

REFEREE

Marco Di Bello will take charge of the match at the Sinigaglia. Referee: Di Bello Assistants: Peretti - Colarossi Fourth official: Zufferli VAR: Mazzoleni AVAR: Maresca

UPDATES ON INTER TV

You'll find all the usual updates and pre-match coverage on Inter TV. Our Livematch show before Como vs. Inter will go live at 20:15 CET and also be available on the Club's official YouTube channel until 20:50 CET. After the game, stay tuned for full post-match coverage, including analysis, insights, and interviews.

A new Maxx Crosby trade rumor from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer includes the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and, surprisingly, the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s another week of the Mountain West Recruiting Roundup.

To officially close the book on the 2026 recruiting class, our cover photo winner needs to be mentioned. For the 2026 cycle, Boise State and Hawaii share the title of having the most cover photo appearances. Congrats to the Broncos and Rainbow Warriors.

Now it’s full steam ahead to the 2027 class. Teams have been handing out 2027 offers for quite some time and continue to do so at a high rate, with San Jose State leading the way. No commits this week, but UNLV already has a decommit, bringing their class from two players to one.

This post does feature our first Mountain West team rankings release, or at least the four teams that have signed a player thus far.

And San Jose State will kick off the 2027 cover photo series after recording 25 offers this week.

Class of 2027 Cover Photo Total:

• San Jose State: 1

Recruiting Calendar:

Starting today and going through mid-April, we are in a quiet period. On-campus contact is permitted, while off-campus contact is limited to text, calls, and DMs.

Next College Student Athlete says:

The NCAA defines the quiet period as a time when “a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college campus and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high school.” To break it down, the NCAA Quiet Period is a time you can talk to college coaches in-person on their college campus. However, the coach is not allowed to watch athletes compete in-person, visit their school, talk to them at their home—or talk to them anywhere outside of the college campus. Coaches can still text, call, email or direct message coaches during this time.

Commitment Spotlight:

Visit Recap:

2027 Mountain West March Team Rankings:

For this initial month, we also include the names of the commits to illustrate what each team has done so far. Only four Mountain West teams have a verbal pledge at this point in the cycle.

1) UNLV

• OL Phoenix Pollard

2) New Mexico

• DB Tayven Collins

3) Wyoming

• WR Alijah Landrum-Hamilton

4) Nevada

• QB Blake Nadler

Recruiting Updates:

Offers:

• Air Force: 5
• Boise State: 7
• Colorado State: 9
• Fresno State:
• Hawaii: 5
• Nevada: 2
• New Mexico: 9
• NIU:
• North Dakota State:
• Oregon State: 2
• San Diego State: 7
• San Jose State: 25
• Texas State: 1
• UNLV: 2
• Utah State:
• UTEP:
• Washington State: 1
• Wyoming:

Visits

Commits:

Decommits

• DL Jaxon Wilson: UNLV

Follow @Mike_SBN on Twitter for all the latest recruiting news and updates.