Zidane

Who: France vs Italy
What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A1 match
Where: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France
When: Friday, October 2, at 8:45pm local time (18:45 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.

It’s time for Zinedine Zidane’s homecoming.

Two-time world champions France face neighbours Italy in Friday’s Nations League match, with Zidane taking charge for the first time on home soil.

Appointed in late July as successor to Didier Deschamps, ex-captain Zidane has guided France to back-to-back away wins. Now he has the chance to complete a hat-trick of victories in front of Les Bleus faithful.

Despite losing captain Kylian Mbappe to injury, France have maintained their winning start, all thanks to their squad depth and talent across positions.

Like France, four-time World Cup winners Italy are also managed by a former player – Roberto Mancini – who is back in the job for the second time. Mancini’s first game back in charge ended in Roman jeers, but the Azzurri responded in style with an emphatic win in their second game.

Friday’s match is expected to be played in front of what will be a sell-out crowd of close to 80,000 fans at the national stadium north of Paris.

So, can Italy build on their dazzling display or will France give Zidane more reasons to rejoice?

Al Jazeera breaks down everything in this match preview:

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.

In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.

How have France and Italy played in the Nations League?

France are on top of this group with six points after identical 1-0 wins over Turkiye and Belgium.

Italy, on the other hand, are second-to-last with three points after losing 2-0 to Belgium and thrashing Turkiye 4-1.

When did France and Italy last meet?

They last met in a Nations League group match in November 2024.

France defeated Italy 3-1 in Milan then, with a double from Adrien Rabiot and a Guglielmo Vicario own goal. Andrea Cambiaso netted the consolation goal for the Italians.

France vs Italy: Head-to-head

• Matches: 41
• France wins: 12
• Italy wins: 20
• Draws: 9

France vs Italy: Form guide

(Last five games, latest results first)

France: W-W-L-L-W

Italy: W-L-W-W-D

Who are the top players to watch?

Michael Olise and Desire Doue (France): Olise’s outrageous finish in Monday’s Belgium game had Zidane going berserk on the sideline. Such is his talent. He has been involved in both goals France scored in this year’s Nations League and is also enjoying a flying start at Bayern Munich this term with eight goals and four assists. Doue, 21, is equally impressive – he assisted Olise in the last game, earning player of the match.

Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Frattesi (Italy): Pio Esposito not only scored a goal in the last game but also celebrated a sweet bit of history – he and his older brother Sebastiano played against Turkiye, marking the first time two brothers started for Italy in more than a century. Inter Milan striker Pio already has five goals in 10 Azzurri appearances. Italian fans should also watch out for Frattesi, another scorer from the last game who has also netted three times for Lazio in this year’s Serie A.

What have the coaches said?

Zinedine Zidane (France): “It is going to be really emotional,” said Zidane, whose last appearance at the Stade de France came as a player in a friendly against Mexico in 2006.

Roberto Mancini (Italy): “Facing Zidane will be a pleasure, but this isn’t a duel between us,” assured Mancini in his press conference.

“It is going to be a great game between France and Italy, teams who are still trying to figure things out. Whatever happens, I feel that this match will be very useful for the process.”

Team news and predicted line-ups

France

Mbappe is the biggest name missing from the France squad. He picked up a knee injury after scoring the winning goal against Turkiye and has since been sidelined for two weeks.

Elsewhere, central midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery is out with a thigh injury, and Matteo Guendouzi remains suspended.

Probable France XI: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Jeremy Jacquet, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert; Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola

Italy

Italy have a fully fit squad.

Probable Italy XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Michael Kayode, Giorgio Scalvini, Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Ruggeri; Sandro Tonali; Davide Frattesi, Nicolo Fagioli; Giacomo Raspadori, Francesco Pio Esposito, Sebastiano Esposito

France vs Italy: TV channel, livestreaming

• France: la chaine L’Équipe, TF1+
• Italy: RAI PLAY, Mediaset, Sky Italia
• United Kingdom: Prime Video UK
• United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
• India: Sony Sports Network
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
• South Africa: DStv Stream

You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.

Kylian Mbappe scores the only goal of France’s win in Turkiye, but Real Madrid striker immediately forced off by injury.

Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal of the game before having to come off grimacing with a knee injury, as France won 1-0 in Turkiye in the UEFA Nations League in new coach Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge on Friday.

The Real Madrid star was moved out to the left wing by his new coach after being used through the middle of the France attack under former coach Didier Deschamps at the recent World Cup, which he ended as the top scorer with 10 goals.

It was from the left that Mbappe, France’s all-time top scorer, notched his 67th international goal, controlling and firing into the net low at the near post after being set up by Michael Olise.

He winced in pain as his teammates came across to celebrate the goal at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit, about 100km outside Istanbul.

Mbappe tried to carry on after receiving treatment, but eventually slumped to the ground and looked concerned as he prodded the outside of his left knee, before walking off to be replaced by Desire Doue.

France and Real will now nervously wait to discover the extent of the injury, with Les Bleus playing three more games over the next 10 days before the club season resumes.

The sight of his star player and skipper coming off overshadowed Zidane’s first match since being appointed coach in late July on a deal to 2030.

The France legend and 1998 World Cup winner is making his return to elite coaching for the first time since his second stint in charge of Madrid ended in 2021.

France, beaten in the semifinals at the World Cup by eventual winners Spain, are in Group A1 of this edition of the Nations League and will now go to Brussels to face Belgium on Monday. Belgium won 2-0 away to Italy on Friday.

Zidane, whose last match as a player came for France against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final, will then make his home debut as coach against the Italians at the Stade de France next Friday.

His first team selection was not dramatically different from the side that regularly played at the World Cup, although Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert was in at left-back while Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki came into the starting XI.

Olise, the Bayern Munich star who lit up the World Cup, was unlucky not to open the scoring late in the first half when his superb strike was tipped over by home goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.

France goalkeeper Mike Maignan responded at the start of the second half as he tipped over an attempt by Abdulkerim Bardakci for Turkiye, who finished bottom of their group at the World Cup, despite a 3-2 win over cohosts the United States.

Mbappe’s goal came shortly after, and the visitors later saw Jules Kounde hit the post before Turkiye were reduced to 10 men late on.

Cakir came flying out of his area to halt Bradley Barcola as the France substitute raced through on goal. German referee Felix Zwayer initially waved play on before undertaking a VAR review, after which he decided the goalkeeper had handled the ball, which meant a red card.

Turkiye, coached by former Italian international Vincenzo Montella, will host Italy next on Monday.

France will have a new face on the touchline for the first time in 14 years when they face Turkey on Friday.

Zinedine Zidane replaced Didier Deschamps after France’s fourth-place finish at the World Cup, but his appointment had been an open secret long before Les Bleus’ third-place play-off loss to England.

Talks between the former Real Madrid manager and the French football authorities kicked off as early as February 2025 – after Zidane’s former team-mate Deschamps announced a few weeks earlier he would step down following the 2026 World Cup.

When he was unveiled in Paris, Zidane was keen to highlight the time he had spent waiting on the sidelines and preparing for the job.

“I had several offers in the last four or five years, but I turned them all down,” an emotional Zidane said. “The national team is the only thing I wanted.”

While his enthusiasm at taking the job was the overarching theme of his first news conference in the French capital, the midfield legend offered few clues to France fans as to how he would approach the role.

Even a question on Kylian Mbappe’s captaincy was bypassed: “The most important thing for him now is to rest, we’ll have the chance to speak in September.”

Mbappe, speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, has since said having the former Real Madrid star as his national team coach was “like a film”.

When asked about his preferred style of play, Zidane opted against going into tactical detail.

“I can’t explain to you in just a couple of words how we’re going win. I have to arrive, meet with the players, and explain my plans to them. After that, it’ll be up to me to keep this team winning.”

However, Zidane confirmed his intention “to do things differently” and he has called up five uncapped players for this international break.

He went on to signal that there would be a degree of “continuation” from the work of his predecessor, which he made sure to praise.

“I’m going to try do what I know how to, but it won’t be a complete break either.”

So what will Zidane bring to the France dugout?