Roberto Mancini has few illusions about what awaits Italy in Saint-Denis on Friday evening. The returning Azzurri coach spent most of his pre-match press conference admitting that Zinedine Zidane’s France are “much further along” than his own group, and then suggested that only one thing might change the equation.
“We’d need all of them to get a nasty cold for France to drop down a few levels,” Mancini said.
The one-liner lifted a session that was otherwise an exercise in managing expectations. Italy returned to winning ways on Monday with a 4-1 Nations League thrashing of Turkey in Bursa, with Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi, Michael Kayode and Pio Esposito on the scoresheet. The result was Mancini’s first since returning for a second spell in the Italy job this summer, after an opening 2-0 defeat to Belgium.
Mancini accepts France are ‘far ahead’
Behind the joke sits a straight reading of the group. France have opened their Nations League campaign with two 1-0 wins, against Turkey and Belgium, and sit top of the pool. Italy are three points behind after their split week.
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“France are one of the best teams in the world and they’re full of incredible players,” Mancini told reporters at the Italian federation’s media day, in comments carried by the FIGC.
“They’re much further along than we are, but this match will tell us a lot about what we’re capable of.”
He also made it clear Italy would not travel to the Stade de France to park the bus, insisting the objective “is always to play to win”. Striker Moise Kean, who missed the Turkey trip with a minor fitness issue, remains a doubt and will be assessed in Paris.
France without Mbappé, Zaïre-Emery and Guendouzi
Zidane’s otherwise glittering squad has taken a hit. Captain Kylian Mbappé is out for roughly two weeks after injuring his knee while scoring against Turkey last Thursday, and midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery is also ruled out with a thigh problem. Matteo Guendouzi is suspended.
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Even so, Ousmane Dembélé, Michaël Olise and Désiré Doué remain available, and it is precisely that depth that drew Mancini’s “cold” quip in the first place.
Zidane’s first home night in charge
Friday is Zidane’s first home match in the France dugout, two months after the French federation handed him a four-year contract to succeed Didier Deschamps. He takes charge of a side still finding its shape after a fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Cup.
“Facing Zidane will be a pleasure, but this isn’t a duel between us,” Mancini said.
Kick-off at the Stade de France is at 8:45pm local time.
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