| France vs Italy | |
| MATCH | Nations League |
| DATE | 03 - 10 - 2026 |
| TIME | 12.15 AM IST |
| STADIUM | Stadium |
France vs Italy Match Preview
France will look to continue their perfect start to the Nations League campaign when they welcome Italy in Paris on Friday night.
Zinedine Zidane has made an impressive beginning to his tenure as France manager, with Les Bleus winning both of their opening matches. France started with a narrow 1-0 victory over Turkey, with Kylian Mbappe scoring the winning goal, before producing another disciplined performance to beat Belgium 1-0 in Brussels.
France made several changes for the Belgium game, but they still managed to secure maximum points. Michael Olise came off the bench to score the decisive goal, while France also hit the woodwork twice during the match.
Those results have placed France at the top of Group 1 with six points from two matches. They will now return home hoping to maintain their winning momentum against an Italy side that has already shown signs of improvement during the current international window.
The fixture also carries additional significance for Zidane, who spent five successful years at Juventus during his playing career. France have dominated the recent head-to-head record between the two nations, although Italy famously defeated Zidane's team in the 2006 World Cup final.
The previous Nations League meetings between the sides produced victories for both teams, with France winning 3-1 away from home before Italy responded with a 3-1 victory in the return fixture.
Italy arrive in Paris after recovering from a difficult opening result. Roberto Mancini's side suffered a 2-0 defeat against Belgium in their first match, but they responded in convincing fashion by beating Turkey 4-1.
The Azzurri were in control from the opening stages in Bursa. Alessandro Bastoni and Davide Frattesi found the net before Michael Kayode added another goal on his senior international debut. Pio Esposito then completed the scoring after Turkey had managed to reduce the deficit.
Kayode's performance was one of the major positives for Italy, while Esposito continued to demonstrate his goalscoring ability at international level.
Mancini will now hope that Italy can carry the confidence from their emphatic victory into the difficult trip to Paris. The Nations League provides the Azzurri with valuable competitive matches as they continue preparing for the next European Championship cycle.
France Team News
Zidane could make further changes to his starting XI as France face a demanding schedule of four competitive matches in just 11 days.
Mike Maignan and Maxence Lacroix were among the few players to retain their places against Belgium. With Ibrahima Konate and William Saliba unavailable, Jeremy Jacquet partnered Lacroix in central defence.
Andy Diouf and Lucas Da Cunha were also given their international debuts.
France will be monitoring the fitness of Mbappe after the captain suffered an injury while scoring against Turkey. Esteban Lepaul led the attack against Belgium, while Ousmane Dembele could be considered for a starting role against Italy.
Italy Team News
Italy have several attacking options available despite some notable absences.
Pio Esposito scored against Turkey and could retain his place after another impressive international performance. His brother Sebastiano also featured in the victory.
Mateo Retegui was not included in the squad, while Giacomo Raspadori is unavailable because of injury. Moise Kean and Gianluca Scamacca are therefore among the players competing for a place in the attack.
Mancini initially selected a large 34-player squad for the international break, with several players left out of the previous matchday group. Nicolo Barella, Honest Ahanor and Gianluca Mancini could all return to contention for the trip to France.
Recent Nations League Form
France: Turkey 0-1 France, Belgium 0-1 France
Italy: Italy 0-2 Belgium, Turkey 1-4 Italy
With France sitting top of the group and Italy coming off a convincing victory, both teams have plenty of motivation heading into this important encounter. The clash in Paris could prove significant in determining the early shape of the Nations League group.