Italy Fight Back to Give Zidane First Defeat as France Coach
Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice as Italy rallied from an early deficit to hand France its first loss under Zinedine Zidane.
- On Thursday, Italy defeated France 3-1 at San Siro, with Francesco Pio Esposito scoring twice to secure victory and maintain their unbeaten run atop the Nations League group.
- France took an early lead after 10 minutes when Michael Olise capitalized on a Gianluigi Donnarumma error, though the visitors dominated despite missing key attackers Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
- Inter Milan striker Pio Esposito converted a penalty after his brother Sebastiano Esposito earlier fired a spot kick wide, while Davide Frattesi also scored for the hosts during the encounter.
- Zinedine Zidane suffered his first defeat as France head coach, while Italy's victory moved them to 10 points and secured their first home win over France since 1962.
- Nations League group play concludes on Sunday with Italy traveling to face Belgium, while Turkiye will visit France in the final round of games to finalize the standings.
43 Articles
43 Articles
"In the second period, we broke out, especially after the 2nd goal, we got out of our frame, but it's part of the learning," said Zinédine Zidane on Thursday 12 November after the severe defeat conceded in Italy (3-1) in the League of Nations, her first at the head of the Blues.
French coach Zinedine Zidane is annoyed by the defensive performance of the French national team, but he is not disappointed by the good attacking play put forth by Les Bleus despite the defeat to Italy.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini hailed his side's determination to make up for the national team's recent disagreements after they came from behind to beat France 3-1 at San Siro on Thursday and go top of Nations League Group A with one game to go. (ANSA)
The discouraging result in the Nations League means France must now learn its qualification for the quarter-finals on Sunday against Turkey in Bordeaux.
For the first time since his arrival on the bench of the French team, Zinédine Zidane saw his training bow. In Italy, in the League of Nations, the Blues fell (3-1) in Milan on Thursday. Captain of one night in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, Adrien Rabiot regretted a first controlled period but still lacked realism.
The French national team had to admit Italy's superiority in the UEFA Nations League match held on Friday (13/11/2026) early morning with a score of 3-1
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
