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place
- San Siro/Giuseppe Meazza
Before Italy-France
Zinedine Zidane’s France can secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League at the San Siro on Thursday night. They lead Group A1 by three points Italyand a win in Milan would guarantee a top two finish.
The sides drew 1-1 at the Stade de France in October with Alessandro Bastoni replying to a Michael Olise goal.
France have been the most consistent team, picking up 10 points in their first four games and conceding just twice. They have won both away games 1-0 and remain unbeaten in the competition.
They have also shown the will to persevere. In their last outing, at home to Belgium, they went ahead inside the final 15 minutes but then dragged the Red Devils back in the final quarter of an hour with Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki turning the game around before Olise added two late goals in a 4-1 win.
Italy is second in the group with seven points. They lost 2-0 at home to Belgium in their opening game but bounced back with a 4-1 win in Turkey, before drawing in Paris and then beating the Turks 3-1 at home.
The Azzurri have a bad recent memory of facing France in Milan. France won there 3-1 in the last Nations League campaign, just months after Italy won 3-1 in Paris.
There is extra motivation for Italy after missing out on the 2026 World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals and finished fourth.
League of Nations table
League A – Group A
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position 1, 2: Play Offs: Quarter-finals
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position 3, 4 : Possible play-off
Italy v France team news
Italy are without defender Gianluca Mancini, who is injured, with Federico Gatti called up as a substitute. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giacomo Raspadori and Moise Kean are also sidelined. Nicolo Zaniolo withdrew this Tuesday for personal reasons.
For France, Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi has replaced injured Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram, who picked up a right hamstring problem in his club’s win over Como.
Bayern Munich midfielder Dayot Upamecano has returned from suspension.
Line-ups planned for Italy-France
Italy: Donnarumma; Kayode, Scalvini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Barella, Tonali, Doumbia; Vergara, P Esposito, S Esposito
France: Maignan; Gusto, Upamecano, Jacquet, Truffert; Tchouaméni, Cherki, Rabiot; Olise, Mbappé, Doué
Italy v France recent form and statistics
- Italy’s Pio Esposito has scored seven goals in just 13 senior appearances
- Olise has contributed four goals and two assists in this Nations League campaign
Where to watch Italy vs France: TV and online streaming
Italy v France kicks off at 19:45 GMT (20:45 local time) on Thursday 12 November at the San Siro in Milan.
The match is live Prime Videothe pay-per-view service and is available for £2.49. In the US, it’s on FOX Sports at 2:45pm ET.
Prediction Italy-France
Italy will be competitive but France have superior players all over the pitch. If Zidane can get his tactics right, the visitors should claim all three points.
