France vs Italy: Zidane’s Blues Put Nations League Lead on Line

France return to the Stade de France on Friday to face Italy in the UEFA Nations League, with the visitors approaching the meeting cautiously. The match is the third fixture of a long international break and begins at 20:45. France have six points from two matches and lead their group, while Italy arrive after a 4-1 victory in Turkey. That result has not removed the concern surrounding a fixture against a French side viewed as the stronger team.

The recent record adds to Italy’s caution. The Azzurri have won only one of the last five meetings between the countries. The balance has shifted further in recent years, as France have continued to call on players established at leading European clubs while Italy have been trying to rebuild stability. Italian assessments have described the contest as a meeting between a young team still searching for consistency and a France side that remains highly rated even without Kylian Mbappe.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini made the difference clear in his pre-match comments. “France is one of the best teams in the world, an extraordinary team,” he said. “They have an abundance of great players. They have Dembélé, Doué, Olise… we will try to get through it as best we can.” Mancini added that France were “well ahead” of Italy in current football, although he said his team wanted to make a good impression and try to win. He also joked that France’s players would all need to fall ill for the team to become less dangerous.

Alessandro Bastoni has a more personal reason to remember the French attack. The Inter Milan defender was part of the team beaten 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 Champions League final, when Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué were among the players who caused Italy major problems. “I am the last person you should ask about how to play against Dembélé,” Bastoni said. “Everything about that final against PSG marked me. It was our worst day and their best.” He said Italy would face two of the five best players in the world and would need a major collective performance.

The 5-0 defeat has therefore become part of the preparation for this international meeting, even though France and PSG are different teams. Bastoni’s comments showed that the memory remains fresh inside the Italian camp. His emphasis was not on an individual solution but on the need for Italy to defend together against players whose movement and quality can change a match quickly.

Zinédine Zidane has rejected the idea that France depend on a single star. With Mbappe absent, the coach pointed to the depth of his squad and said there were no France A, B or C teams. Every player, he said, had to be ready, while selection would determine how the available quality was used. The French group has also spoken about the value of playing together rather than relying on one, two or three players.

Dembélé said the team wanted to enjoy its football and make use of its technical quality. He also said there was no need for revenge ahead of the match, despite the attention around the recent PSG final. “There is an incredible desire, but he remains focused on what he has to do and what he says to the team,” Dembélé said. France will also benefit from returning to the Stade de France, a detail that has added significance to a fixture both teams regard as special because of their history.

Zidane’s own connection with France and Italy gives the match another layer. He recalled his first international memory as a 31 January 1998 match against Spain played in freezing conditions. He also spoke about the 2006 World Cup, when he had not expected to become a coach and believed his playing career was ending. He described his return to the France job as an opportunity and said he had prepared himself to coach the national team again. His earlier years at Juventus remain part of his relationship with Italian football, even as he now leads France against the Azzurri.

The coach has also placed emphasis on positional clarity. Asked about Doué’s versatility, Zidane said he did not particularly like the label and wanted the player to express himself in his best position. He accepted that Doué could operate in two or three roles, but the principle remained that players should be used where they can perform most naturally. Another French player said Zidane had given him freedom to drop deeper and help midfield build attacks, reflecting the balance between structure and movement that France want to show.

For Italy, the match is a measure of progress rather than only another group fixture. Their 4-1 win in Turkey provided a positive start to the break, but the French challenge is viewed as a different level of examination. The Azzurri are no longer considered France’s natural equal in the current group, according to the prevailing Italian assessment, and that status has increased the pressure on the visitors to show what their rebuilding process can produce.

France enter the game with the clearer position in the table and the stronger recent head-to-head record. Zidane said his team had prepared well for its third match and had no particular injury concerns, while the players stressed the importance of the whole squad. Italy have acknowledged the gap but still intend to compete. The result will shape the next stage of the Nations League group and provide Italy with a direct test of how close it can come to a France team that has already taken six points from six.