France Coach Zidane Faces First Defeat as Italy Triumphs 3-1
Milan – Zinedine Zidane experienced his inaugural loss as France’s head coach after Italy overcame the French team with a score of 3-1 during the UEFA Nations League match at the San Siro on November 12, 2026. Zidane acknowledged that while Italy “played better in Paris, they won this evening,” and he defended Chelsea’s Malo Gusto from criticism following the defeat.
France commenced the match strongly, with Michael Olise capitalizing on a mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma while playing out from the back. However, Italy rapidly equalized through Francesco Pio Esposito. The turning point seemed to arise when Sebastiano Esposito missed a penalty, yet the Azzurri quickly turned the tide, eventually sealing a 3-1 victory with goals from Davide Frattesi and another penalty, which Pio Esposito successfully converted.
Zidane expressed his frustration in a post-match press conference, highlighting that the team “had a good initial approach and held the ball well,” but faltered defensively in the second half. This matchup marked a peculiar situation, as France had not failed to score in the first half in their previous nine matches.
He stated, “We stayed in the game, did good things in possession, but we fell away in the second half, especially after going 2-1 down. It is part of the process.” The French squad dealt with significant injury issues, missing key players such as Inter’s Marcus Thuram, Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu, and Kylian Mbappé.
Defensively, Malo Gusto struggled at right-back, struggling to contain Nicolò Cambiaghi and later Federico Dimarco. In response to questions about Gusto’s performance, Zidane remarked, “Your job is to analyze what you need to analyze, but my focus is on recharging the batteries for the next game.” He reassured that “we are all united” despite the team’s overall poor defensive display.
After Olise opened the score, his influence waned as the match progressed. Zidane commented on his performance saying, “You cannot always play at the top level for 90 minutes. Olise had some good performances; he wasn’t the only one who fell away in the second half, the whole team did.”
Looking ahead, Zidane acknowledged the necessity of winning against Turkiye in the final group match to secure a stronger position in the competition. “We wanted to win the game tonight to ensure we had first place on Sunday, but that was the objective anyway regardless of this evening’s result,” he noted.
This defeat leaves Italy as the only team Zidane has yet to conquer during his time as France coach, now facing a second game without a victory against them after previously earning a 1-1 draw in Paris. Zidane concluded his remarks by emphasizing the need to focus on improving off the ball and acknowledged that Italy’s recent performances have been commendable. The team will eagerly await the return of injured star Kylian Mbappé in hopes of bolstering their chances against Turkiye.
