France have never been so much stronger than Italy in football as they are today. Even without the injured Kylian Mbappe, Zinedine Zidane’s side is an overwhelming favourite against Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri. Olise, Dembele and Doue, with Barcola waiting on the bench, represent a quartet of attacking aces rarely seen in international football. They are so formidable that even the absence of France’s best player, Mbappe, is not considered a problem. There is another detail that challenges the conventional wisdom about the quality of football in Serie A. No fewer than seven players from the Italian league are part of Zidane’s France squad, ranging from starters such as goalkeeper Maignan and midfielders Rabiot and Kone to substitutes Diouf, Kalulu and Como’s duo of goalkeeper Butez and Da Cunha.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇫🇷 Zidane says it 20 years later: he has no regrets.<br><br>🗣️ The Frenchman spoke again about his headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. He says he is not proud of what happened, but insists that it is part of his career and his story.<br><br> Now, he prefers to look ahead… <a href="https://t.co/2NDMbdidjF">pic.twitter.com/2NDMbdidjF</a></p>— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) <a href="https://x.com/beINSPORTSUSA/status/2105790251218133189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##France’s narrow victories over Turkey and Belgium should not be misleading. In both matches, Les Bleus created a host of chances and half-chances while allowing their opponents little or nothing in the defensive phase. Adding further weight to Zidane’s winning start as France coach is the fact that those victories came with two almost entirely different teams. Mancini’s Italy showed two different faces against Belgium and Turkey, and tonight’s clash at the Stade de France should provide an answer as to which version of the Azzurri is the more representative one. Like Zidane, Mancini made major changes between the two Nations League matches, giving several players their senior international debuts, beginning with Michael Kayode, who made by far the strongest impression among the newcomers.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">📊 All of the previous four games between France and Italy have ended with the scoreline 3-1.<br><br>Another 3-1 tonight? 👀 <a href="https://t.co/CbwwzH499S">pic.twitter.com/CbwwzH499S</a></p>— FotMob (@FotMob) <a href="https://x.com/FotMob/status/2105989362571694139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##The match in Bursa showed that the idea of using two deep-lying playmakers (Tonali and Fagioli) and Pio Esposito as a focal point in attack allows the full-backs to make runs from deep — Kayode and Calafiori are expected to do so tonight — while also creating opportunities for Frattesi, with Barella the most likely option in that role tonight. However, the defence will face the sternest test. Bastoni is a guaranteed starter, while Mancini has yet to decide whether to stick with Scalvini or bring the experienced Gianluca Mancini back into the team. In any case, Donnarumma and the centre-back pairing will need help from all their teammates on the pitch if they are to withstand France’s transitions, one-twos, runs in behind and, above all, Olise’s dribbling. The Frenchman is becoming more of a joy to watch with every passing day. That is why few would want to be in Bastoni’s or Calafiori’s shoes at the Stade de France tonight.##LINKED_NEWS_69428##Aside from his doubts at the back, Mancini has also yet to decide whether to bring Barella back into the starting line-up or stick with Frattesi from the first minute. The same dilemma applies to Sebastiano Esposito and Kean, as well as Vergara and Maldini in the wide attacking positions around Pio Esposito. Italian media have been engaged in a major debate over whether Pio Esposito should be “run into the ground” or saved for next Monday’s match against Turkey, in which the Azzurri could secure their place in the top tier of the Nations League. There has been less debate about Tonali, who, alongside Esposito, will be the only player to start all three matches. The reason is as logical as it is mundane: Tonali plays for Tottenham, while Pio plays for Inter.##LINKED_NEWS_69321##Mancini has announced that his team will not come to defend. The Italy coach had no problem admitting that France are the stronger side, but that is no reason for the Azzurri not to try to impose their own style of play, based on possession and an attacking mentality. They may have less quality than the French, but they intend to make up for it with greater aggression and physical strength. Tonight’s clash could hardly pass without a reminder that Zidane played his final match in a France shirt against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final, when he headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest. As fate would have it, his first match in his new role with the French national team in front of a home crowd will also be against Italy.##LINKED_NEWS_69432##Statistics suggest that Italy have a much better head-to-head record against France. The two national teams have met 41 times — Italy have played more matches only against Switzerland, with 62, with the Azzurri winning 19, France claiming 12 victories and ten matches ending in draws. However, it is worth noting that France has lost only two of their last 15 meetings with Italy and has won four of the last five. This recent trend also reflects the current gap in quality between the players of the two national teams. Nevertheless, football’s appeal lies in the fact that it is one of the few sports in which the better side often risks ending up on the losing side.##EDITORS_CHOICE##As a player, Zidane faced Italy four times, and curiously, every match was level after 90 minutes. The difference was that France progressed on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup, the French won through the so-called golden goal at Euro 2000, and Italy prevailed in the penalty shoot-out in the aforementioned 2006 World Cup final in Berlin. Italy, meanwhile, will be playing at the Stade de France for the fifth time. They have lost twice against France there, but at Euro 2016 they produced one of their biggest upsets, beating Spain 2-0 with Antonio Conte in charge.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION AFriday21.45: (1.53) Belgium (4.30) Turkey (6.00)21.45: (1.45) France (4.50) Italy (7.00)Saturday19.00: (4.10) Croatia (3.50) England (1.90)21.45: (1.07) Spain (13.0) Czech R. (25.0)***odds are subject to change***—————————————————————UEFA – NATIONS LEAGUE BFriday21.45: (2.95) B&H (3.45) Sweden (2.35)21.45: (2.15) Hungary (3.35) Georgia (3.45)21.45: (1.58) Poland (4.00) Romania (5.90)21.45: (1.90) Ukraine (3.40) N.Ireland (4.30)***odds are subject to change***——————————————————————UEFA – NATIONS LEAGUE CFriday17.00: (1.70) Kazakhstan (3.45) Moldova (4.90)19.00: (2.30) Cyprus (3.25) Armenia (2.95)19.00: (4.10) Latvia (3.35) Montenegro (1.85)21.45: (6.00) Faroe I. (3.45) Slovakia (1.60)##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-64387-89945" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/64387/season/89945/standings?widgetTitle=UEFA+Nations+League+26%2F27%2C+League+A%2C+Group+1&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:483px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##
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