Italy had not beaten France on home soil since 1962. That record fell in Milan, where a 10th-minute Michael Olise finish should have set Zidane’s side up for a routine Nations League night and instead became the opening act of a Les Bleus collapse.

Francesco Pio Esposito equalised on 26 minutes, Davide Frattesi put Italy in front on 63, and Esposito wrapped up the win from the penalty spot on 75. Olise’s opener had come after a rare error from Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who gifted possession to the France forward 10 minutes in, a slip that Mancini afterwards flatly called the error that put his side behind. France were without the injured Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé but, as Al Jazeera noted, made an electric start in pouring rain before the game turned.

Mancini: “We stayed calm”

Italy coach Roberto Mancini, in his second spell in charge, said the response to Olise’s goal was what pleased him most.

“Conceding a goal against France after 10 minutes could’ve destroyed us, instead we stayed calm, and after seven or eight minutes, we got back on track,” Mancini said to RAI Sport, via Football Italia.

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“A great performance, the lads did so well, I am happy for the fans and hope they enjoyed themselves.”

Italy even had the luxury of missing a penalty and still winning comfortably. Older brother Sebastiano Esposito stepped up at the spot instead of Pio and fired wide, prompting a dry response from Mancini afterwards. “Pio was meant to take the penalty. Did they get confused? Well next time they won’t get confused again,” he told Sky Sport Italia. When a second spot-kick arrived on 75 minutes after Antonio Vergara was fouled by Dayot Upamecano, Pio took it himself and drilled it into the bottom corner.

Zidane: “In disarray”

For Zidane, the result was the first blemish of a tenure that had opened with three wins and a draw from four matches.

“When we were struggling, we didn’t manage to react within the framework of the game plan that we put in place,” Zidane said to TF1, via Get French Football News. “We did it at 0-0 or at 1-0, but as soon as they took the lead, we were in disarray, notably defensively.”

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He added that the timing of the setback was not catastrophic: “We won’t be worried. It is a part of football. It is better that these kinds of moments come now.”

Group A1 goes to the final matchday

Italy’s win lifts them level with France at the top of Nations League Group A1 on 10 points, with the Azzurri now ahead on the head-to-head after the October meeting at the Stade de France had ended 1-1. Belgium sit a point behind on nine, while Turkey are stuck on zero after a fifth straight defeat.

Italy need only a draw away to Belgium on the final matchday to secure top spot and a quarter-final place; France host bottom side Turkey the same night, needing a win and an Italian slip to overhaul the head-to-head and finish first.

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