France and Italy draw 1-1 in Zidane's first home game as national coach

France drew 1-1 with Italy in a UEFA Nations League match at the Stade de France on Friday, 2 October 2026, in Zinedine Zidane's first home game since being appointed France coach.

Michael Olise opened the scoring for France in the 55th minute. His shot went in off the crossbar. Alessandro Bastoni equalised for Italy after Lucas Da Cunha lost possession near the France box. According to ESPN, the equaliser came 13 minutes after Olise's goal; Al Jazeera described it as coming midway through the second half.

France defender Dayot Upamecano was sent off late in the match for a second yellow card. According to Al Jazeera, the second yellow came in the 85th minute. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not detail the incidents that led to either card.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made multiple saves in the second half, including from Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Adrien Rabiot and Eduardo Camavinga. Earlier, Moise Kean missed a close-range chance for Italy that was saved by Mike Maignan. According to Al Jazeera, Kean also had a goal disallowed for offside and Davide Frattesi went close in the first half.

Zidane had won his first two games as France coach, both 1-0 away, against Türkiye and Belgium. Olise scored a solo winner against Belgium. According to Al Jazeera, Kylian Mbappé was absent after returning to Real Madrid with a knee injury suffered while scoring the winner in Türkiye, and France made six changes from the Belgium game.

France lead their Nations League group, one point ahead of Belgium, with Italy a further two points back. According to Al Jazeera, Belgium beat Türkiye 3-0 in the group's other match. France play Belgium on Monday in their final match of this international window. Italy host Türkiye.

Roberto Mancini is in his second spell as Italy coach. Italy failed to qualify for the last three World Cups. According to ESPN, this was Mancini's third game of his second spell, after a 2-0 home loss to Belgium and a 4-1 win in Türkiye.

Zidane, 54, was sent off for a headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, his last game as a player. Italy won that match on penalties. According to Al Jazeera, Friday was his first appearance at the Stade de France since a friendly against Mexico in May 2006. Al Jazeera put the attendance at 77,118; ESPN reported fans chanted "Zizou, Zizou" and displayed a banner reading "Bienvenue Chez Toi".

What each side says

Zidane said France deserved better and had chances to finish the game. ESPN quoted him as saying: "I'm disappointed for the players because we deserved better. We had chances to kill the game off, but we didn't, and football's like that sometimes. But it was encouraging. Honestly, I'm proud of how we played." On the reception, ESPN quoted him as saying: "It was touching. We would have loved to give the stadium and the whole nation a victory, but it wasn't to be." Before the match, according to ESPN, Zidane said Italy remained a dangerous side despite poor recent results.

The reports do not include comment from Mancini, Italian players or French players.

Analysis

The draw leaves France top of the group by a single point, so Monday's match against Belgium could decide first place in this window; a win, draw or loss each produces a different standings picture. Italy, two points further back, remain within reach depending on their result against Türkiye. For France, Upamecano's red card raises the question of his availability for the Belgium game, which the reports do not address. Zidane's early tenure shows two away wins and a home draw; whether the absence of Mbappé or the six changes affected the result cannot be determined from the reports reviewed by Vocemundi.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.