Italy Hand Zidane First Defeat As France Coach With 3-1 Comeback Victory

Italy came from behind to defeat France 3-1 at the San Siro on Thursday, handing Zinedine Zidane his first defeat as France head coach and moving the Azzurri to the top of their UEFA Nations League group.

Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice, while Davide Frattesi also found the net as Italy recovered from an early setback to claim an important victory in Group A1.

France took the lead after 10 minutes when Michael Olise capitalised on a costly mistake by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who played the ball straight to the forward.

Olise evaded a defender before firing home his fifth goal in five Nations League appearances.

Italy responded in the 26th minute when Nicolo Cambiaghi reached the byline and delivered a cut-back that Esposito converted with a clever touch to restore parity.

The hosts gained confidence following the equaliser, with Sebastiano Esposito forcing a save from France goalkeeper Mike Maignan as Italy searched for the lead.

France came close to restoring their advantage before half-time, but Bradley Barcola’s curling effort struck the post.

The visitors continued to threaten after the restart, with Rayan Cherki forcing Donnarumma into an excellent save that pushed his powerful effort against the woodwork.

Italy also created opportunities, with Maignan producing a close-range stop to deny Cambiaghi.

The hosts missed a chance to take the lead in the 60th minute when Cambiaghi was brought down by Malo Gusto inside the penalty area.

Sebastiano Esposito, brother of the Italian goalscorer, stepped forward to take the resulting penalty but sent his effort wide.

Italy eventually went ahead three minutes later when Frattesi finished a Federico Dimarco cross, with the Inter Milan wing-back having just come off the bench.

The victory lifted Italy to the top of Group A1 with 10 points, level with France but ahead on their head-to-head record.

Belgium occupy third place with nine points after defeating bottom-placed Turkey, who suffered their fifth consecutive defeat.

France were without injured forwards Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele but still created several opportunities in an entertaining encounter.

The defeat represents a first setback for Zidane since taking charge of the French national team.