Gianluigi Donnarumma handed France an early gift at San Siro, yet Italy refused to crumble. Instead, the Azzurri roared back behind a brace from 21-year-old striker Francesco Pio Esposito, as Italy beat France 3-1 on Thursday night to knock Zinedine Zidane off his clean sheet as national team boss.
The victory gave Italy their first home win over their cross-border rivals since 1962. It also hoisted Roberto Mancini’s squad to the top of Nations League Group A1, completely swinging the momentum heading into Sunday’s group decider.
Also read: Kane Set for England Appearance Record in Nations League
For Zidane, the rainy evening in Milan delivered a harsh reality check. France took the pitch without injured superstars Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, but they still grabbed the early advantage before Italy’s relentless pressure unraveled their backline.
Francesco Pio Esposito leads the comeback
France struck after just 10 minutes when Donnarumma committed an unforced blunder. The Italy goalkeeper passed the ball straight to Michael Olise just outside the penalty area. Olise danced past a defender and slid the ball home for his fifth goal in five Nations League matches.
Only England captain Harry Kane has scored more in this tournament cycle. France pressed forward with Adrien Rabiot wearing the captain’s armband for the first time. Desire Doue smacked the side netting, Donnarumma parried a fierce drive from Rabiot, and Lucas Da Cunha dragged a half-volley inches wide of the post.
Italy looked pinned back until the 26th minute. Nicolo Cambiaghi sprinted toward the left byline, slipped past his marker, and whipped a low cross into the six-yard box. Esposito met it on the run, redirecting the ball past French goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a deft flick.
The equalizer flipped the game on its head. Two minutes later, Francesco’s older brother, Sebastiano Esposito, forced Maignan into a full-stretch save. France responded right before the interval when Bradley Barcola cut inside and rattled the foot of the far post.
Missed penalties and second-half fireworks
The pace never slowed after the break. Donnarumma redeemed his early mistake by tipping a blistering strike from Rayan Cherki onto the woodwork. Italy flew straight down the other end, where Maignan denied Cambiaghi from point-blank range.
On the hour mark, Malo Gusto clipped Cambiaghi inside the box to concede a spot kick. Sebastiano Esposito took charge of the ball with a chance to give Italy the lead, but he blasted his penalty wide of the target.
Italian heads did not drop. Barely three minutes later, substitute wing-back Federico Dimarco delivered a pinpoint delivery across the box. Davide Frattesi met it with a crisp low drive to make it 2-1.
France scrambled to regain composure, but Dayot Upamecano made a clumsy challenge on Italian substitute Antonio Vergara inside the area. This time, Francesco Pio Esposito stepped up. He tucked his spot kick into the bottom corner to seal the win.
Why Italy beat France matters in Group A1
When Italy beat France in Milan, the group standings shifted dramatically. Both teams sit on 10 points after five rounds, but Italy hold top spot thanks to their superior head-to-head record.
Belgium sit right on their heels in third place with nine points after cruising past bottom-dwellers Turkiye. That keeps three teams in contention for the quarterfinal spots before the final round.
Mancini has now stretched Italy’s unbeaten run to four matches in his second spell as national coach. His tactical shifts and faith in younger attackers have renewed a side that struggled for goals in recent campaigns.
The state of Group A1 heading into the weekend:
- Italy: 10 points (head-to-head advantage over France)
- France: 10 points
- Belgium: 9 points
- Turkiye: 0 points (relegated)
Harry Kane sets England cap record at Wembley
While Italy celebrated in Milan, history was made in London. Harry Kane marked his record-breaking 126th cap for England by firing home the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker moved past former goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who had held the all-time appearance record for England since 1989. Shilton stood on the Wembley turf before kickoff to hand Kane a commemorative award in front of 80,400 supporters.
England looked in trouble after letting slip an early lead and conceding a soft equalizer. In the 64th minute, Kane won the match from the penalty spot. He drove the ball straight down the center past Dominik Livakovic for his 92nd international goal, securing England’s place in the Nations League quarterfinals.
Attention now turns back to Group A1, where Italy travel to face Belgium and France host Turkiye on Sunday to settle qualification for the knockout rounds.
Source: Al Jazeera
