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.
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Sport → follow → GMT
It’s time for Zinedine Zidane’s homecoming.
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It → ’ → homecoming
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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.
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Zidane → extend → soil
Appointed in late July as successor to Didier Deschamps, ex-captain Zidane has guided France to back-to-back away wins.
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Zidane → appoint → wins
Now he has the chance to complete a hat-trick of victories in front of Les Bleus faithful.
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he → have → faithful
Despite losing captain Kylian Mbappe to injury, France have maintained their winning start, all thanks to their squad depth and talent across positions.
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France → lose → 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.
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who → manage → 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.
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Azzurri → end → 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.
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what → expect → Paris
So, can Italy build on their dazzling display or will France give Zidane more reasons to rejoice?
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France → build → reasons
Al Jazeera breaks down everything in this match preview:
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Jazeera → break → preview
The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.
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League → found → teams
In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.
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which → participate → promotion
How have France and Italy played in the Nations League?
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France → play → League
Italy, on the other hand, are second-to-last with three points after losing 2-0 to Belgium and thrashing Turkiye 4-1.
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Italy → lose → Turkiye
When did France and Italy last meet?
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France → meet → ?
They last met in a Nations League group match in November 2024.
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They → meet → November
France defeated Italy 3-1 in Milan then, with a double from Adrien Rabiot and a Guglielmo Vicario own goal.
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France → defeat → Rabiot
Andrea Cambiaso netted the consolation goal for the Italians.
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Cambiaso → net → Italians
(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?
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players → watch → ?
Olise’s outrageous finish in Monday’s Belgium game had Zidane going berserk on the sideline.
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Zidane → have → sideline
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.
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France → involve → goals
Doue, 21, is equally impressive – he assisted Olise in the last game, earning player of the match.
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he → assist → match
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.
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brothers → score → century
Inter Milan striker Pio already has five goals in 10 Azzurri appearances.
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Pio → have → 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?
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coaches → watch → What
“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.
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appearance → go → 2006
Roberto Mancini (Italy): “Facing Zidane will be a pleasure, but this isn’t a duel between us,” assured Mancini in his press conference.
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this → face → conference
“It is going to be a great game between France and Italy, teams who are still trying to figure things out.
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who → go → things
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.
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Mbappe → happen → squad
He picked up a knee injury after scoring the winning goal against Turkiye and has since been sidelined for two weeks.
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He → pick → weeks
Elsewhere, central midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery is out with a thigh injury, and Matteo Guendouzi remains suspended.
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Guendouzi → remain → injury
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.
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Italy → have → 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.
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You → find → listing
The Aporia
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