France draw with Italy as Olise's spark is cancelled out

France remain top of Nations League Group 1, but their advantage has been reduced to one point after Italy held them to a draw. The result ended Zinédine Zidane’s perfect start in the competition after victories over Turkey and Belgium. France will host Belgium again in three days, with Italy still three points behind in third place.

Michael Olise put France ahead in the 55th minute with a powerful finish from a free-kick routine involving Rayan Cherki. Italy responded 13 minutes later after Adrien Rabiot’s misplaced pass through the middle allowed Lucas Da Cunha to lose possession. Alessandro Bastoni collected the ball and beat Mike Maignan to level the match.

France had struggled to break through Italy’s compact defence before the interval, while Moïse Kean missed a major chance for the visitors. Gianluigi Donnarumma then made six important saves, including efforts from Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga. France’s late push was made more difficult when Dayot Upamecano received a second yellow card in the 85th minute. The hosts held on with 10 men, preserving a point but giving Belgium an opportunity to close the gap after its 3-0 win over Turkey.