Zidane says 'no regrets' over World Cup headbutt as France prepare to meet Italy

France coach Zinedine Zidane has said he has no regrets about headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final. The incident, which occurred 17 years ago, led to Zidane being sent off in extra time of a match that Italy won on penalties. According to RFI English and The Citizen, Zidane stated that while he is not proud of his actions, they are part of his career.

Zidane made these comments ahead of France's Nations League game against Italy on Friday. The Citizen reports that he mentioned the images of the headbutt would always be there to remind him of what happened, but he tries to focus on the positives. He also stated that he had not spoken to Materazzi since the incident.

Zidane's France team has had recent success, with two consecutive 1-0 Nations League victories, according to reports from The National UAE and The National Business. However, these reports also mention that Zidane will be without Kylian Mbappe for the upcoming game against Italy, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Brief written by urgent.news from RFI English, The Citizen, Yahoo Sports, The National UAE, The National Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.