In Zidane's first game against Italy in 20 years, and his first as France manager on home soil, France and Italy played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw. The hosts took the lead through a phenomenal goal from Olise, but Bastoni restored parity shortly afterwards to set the final score.France and Italy played out a tense and relatively cagey first half, with both sides creating their moments but neither able to find a valid breakthrough.Italy had the first major chance of the game in the 9th minute. A ball from the flank found Kean in front of goal, with the striker seemingly presented with an almost open net. However, his finish went straight at Maignan, allowing France to survive a huge scare.📸🇮🇹 MOISE KEAN JUST MISSED A HUGE CHANCE! 😳One of the WORST misses of his career — and Italy could’ve been 1-0 up! ðŸ˜A massive opportunity goes begging! 👀 pic.twitter.com/B8vlOjjsYW— X_GÖAL (@Xrkt111686) October 2, 2026 The hosts had to wait until the 20th minute for their first shot of the match. Olise made progress down the flank before attempting to threaten Donnarumma, but his effort lacked accuracy and flew over the crossbar.France came even closer three minutes later, although it was almost entirely accidental. Olise tried to send a cross into the box from the left, Tonali got a touch on the ball, and it looped towards goal before eventually crashing against the crossbar.Italy then produced another dangerous spell in the 41st minute. A cross from the flank caused chaos inside the French penalty area, with the ball eventually falling to Frattesi. His shot was blocked and deflected wide, but the visitors did not have to wait long for another opportunity. Just seconds later, Kean found the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.##NAJAVA_MECA_10000358##Both goals at the "France" Stadium came in the second half, with the hosts striking first through Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich attacker put his side ahead in the 55th minute, combining a superb finish with an assist from Cherki to produce a spectacular goal.Olise freekick goal 🆚 Italy | France vs Italy | UEFA Nations League pic.twitter.com/iQM2dUaLBa— StatPad Football📊📈📉 (@StatPadFootball) October 2, 2026 Zidane's team remained in complete control of the match until the 68th minute, when Italy levelled following a disastrous mistake from the French defence.Bastoni took full advantage, making a late run from deep before punishing Da Cunha's lack of awareness by stealing the ball from behind and beating Maignan to make it 1-1.The Tricolours continued to put pressure on the Azzurri, but Italy were repeatedly rescued by Donnarumma, who produced a series of excellent saves and finished the night with seven in total.The visitors' task became even easier in the closing stages when Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 85th minute. The French defender received a second yellow card for a challenge on Kean.As a result, France were held to a draw for the first time since Zinedine Zidane took charge.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION AThursdayDenmark – Portugal 2-4 (1-2)/Damsgaard 23, Hojlund 53 – Cancelo 13, Ramos 25, Vitinha 67, Felix 87/Germany – Serbia 2-0 (1-0)/Bischof 39, Wirtz 61/Greece – Netherlands 2-2 (2-0)/Ioannidis 23, Masouras 45+2 – Van Dijk 59, Reijnders 89/Wales – Norway 2-1 (1-1)/James 38, Williams 48 – Bobb 11/FridayBelgium – Turkey 3-0 (1-0)/De Bruyne 10, 59, Lukaku 76/France – Italy 1-1 (0-0)/Olise 55 – Bastoni 68/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***
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