Italy fight back to deal Zidane’s first loss as France coach
Francesco Pio Esposito struck twice as Italy stormed back to win 3-1 at San Siro and go top of their Nations League group on Thursday.
MILAN: Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice as Italy bounced back to defeat France 3-1 at San Siro, dealing Zinedine Zidane his first loss as France's head coach, reports say. Michael Olise scored the opening goal for Italy after a mistake by France goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Italy took the lead through Francesco Pio Esposito in the 26th minute, followed by Davide Frattesi in the 48th minute.
France, without key players Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, dominated early on but struggled to find the back of the net. Despite missing key attackers, France made an early impact with Desire Doue hitting the post and Adrien Rabiot testing Donnarumma. The hosts responded with Esposito's opener before Frattesi equalized. The match remained goalless until Italy's second penalty, converted by Francesco Pio Esposito, sealed the victory.
This result puts Italy at the top of Group A1 with 10 points, above France on head-to-head record. Belgium and Turkey are third and fourth respectively after Belgium's fifth consecutive defeat.
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- Italy fight back to deal Zidane’s first loss as France coach freemalaysiatoday.com
- Italy fight back to deal Zidane first loss as France coach nst.com.my
