Italy beat France 3-1 as Zidane suffers first defeat as coach

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

Francesco Pio Esposito emerged as Italy’s hero, scoring twice as the hosts recovered from an early setback to secure an impressive victory in front of their home supporters. Davide Frattesi also found the net as Italy continued their strong start under Roberto Mancini.

France initially looked comfortable and took the lead after just 10 minutes. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a costly mistake by passing the ball directly to Michael Olise, who took advantage of the opportunity and fired home his fifth goal in five Nations League appearances.

The visitors continued to apply pressure, with Desire Doue and Adrien Rabiot creating dangerous opportunities. However, Italy gradually found their rhythm and responded in the 26th minute.

Nicolo Cambiaghi delivered an excellent cutback from the byline, allowing Esposito to finish with a clever touch and bring Italy level at 1-1.

The equaliser transformed the atmosphere at San Siro, with Italy growing increasingly confident. Sebastiano Esposito nearly put the hosts ahead moments later, but France goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced an important save.

France also came close to restoring their advantage before half-time when Bradley Barcola struck the far post with a curling effort.

The second half continued at a thrilling pace. Rayan Cherki tested Donnarumma with a powerful shot, forcing the Italian goalkeeper to push the ball onto the post.

Italy subsequently missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Cambiaghi won a penalty after being fouled by Malo Gusto. However, Sebastiano Esposito sent his spot-kick wide in the 60th minute.

The hosts quickly recovered from the disappointment. Just three minutes later, substitute Federico Dimarco created an opportunity for Frattesi, who fired the ball into the net to give Italy a 2-1 advantage.

Italy sealed the victory through another penalty after Antonio Vergara was brought down by Dayot Upamecano. This time, Francesco Pio Esposito made no mistake, confidently sending the ball into the bottom corner to complete his brace.

The victory moved Italy to the top of Group A1 with 10 points, level with France but ahead on head-to-head record. Belgium occupied third place with nine points after defeating Turkey, who suffered their fifth consecutive defeat.

The result also extended Italy’s unbeaten run to four matches and marked their first home victory against France since 1962.

Italy will face Belgium in their final group fixture on Sunday, while France will look to recover when they host Turkey.