Italy recovered from an early goalkeeping error to beat France 3-1 at San Siro in Milan on Thursday, with Francesco Pio Esposito scoring twice to send the hosts top of their Nations League group.

The victory left Italy and France level on 10 points in Group A1, with Italy ahead on their head-to-head record, Al Jazeera reported. It also handed Zinedine Zidane his first defeat as France head coach.

France took the lead after 10 minutes when Gianluigi Donnarumma passed the ball directly to Michael Olise. The attacker beat a defender and finished for his fifth goal in five Nations League appearances.

Despite missing injured forwards Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, France had started strongly in pouring rain. Desire Doue struck the side netting, stand-in captain Adrien Rabiot tested Donnarumma and Lucas Da Cunha sent a half-volley narrowly wide.

Italy equalized with their first chance in the 26th minute. Nicolo Cambiaghi reached the byline and delivered a cutback that Esposito converted with a deft touch. His older brother, Sebastiano, then forced a sharp save from Mike Maignan.

France twice came close to restoring their advantage. Bradley Barcola hit the far post before halftime, while Donnarumma tipped a Rayan Cherki strike onto the post after the break. At the other end, Maignan denied Cambiaghi from close range.

Italy squandered an opportunity to go ahead on the hour when Sebastiano Esposito fired a penalty wide after Malo Gusto tripped Cambiaghi. But the hosts needed only three more minutes to take the lead: substitute Federico Dimarco supplied a cross and Davide Frattesi drove his shot home.

Another substitute, Antonio Vergara, earned Italy a second penalty after being tripped by Dayot Upamecano. This time Francesco Pio Esposito took responsibility and struck into the bottom corner to complete his double.

According to Al Jazeera, the result was Italy’s first home win over France since 1962 and extended their unbeaten run to four matches during Roberto Mancini’s second spell as coach.

Belgium sit third in the group on nine points. Italy visit Belgium in Sunday’s final round of group matches, while France host bottom-placed Turkiye.

Sources