France controlled much of the opening period against Italy at the Stade de France, enjoying 68% possession, but the visitors remained in the contest as the Nations League meeting in Paris stayed goalless.
The match began at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST), with Italy seeking to build on their contrasting results in Group A. They had lost 2-0 to Belgium before responding with a 4-1 away victory over Turkiye, while France arrived with a 100% record after 1-0 wins against both opponents on their travels.
France, led here by Zinedine Zidane, repeatedly attempted to create openings from wide areas. Ousmane Dembele saw a long-range effort comfortably held by Gianluigi Donnarumma, although he had been offside and had better options available.
Bradley Barcola sent Desire Doue down the left, only for the resulting shot to be blocked. Doue later landed heavily on his arm and held his shoulder, but there was no foul by Sebastiano Esposito.
Michael Olise then found Rayan Cherki with a clever pass. Cherki nutmegged Riccardo Calafiori, but Alessandro Bastoni shepherded him towards the touchline. At the other end, Mike Maignan was almost caught out by a back pass and had to clear under pressure.
France’s short-corner routine produced mixed results. One delivery from Doue went directly to Donnarumma, while a deflected Dembele curling effort earned another corner. A further set-piece saw Doue’s intended cross take a touch off Sandro Tonali and strike the crossbar.
Olise later tried to repeat the move but sent his attempt wide, before overhitting a cross beyond everyone. Dembele also had a snapshot deflected off Esposito, while Kean’s attempted pull-back from the left was blocked.
Italy showed some composure in possession, although Kayode’s attempt to nutmeg Adrien Truffert failed. Truffert then dragged Sebastiano Esposito down in midfield and appeared fortunate to avoid a booking.
The visitors had a promising opportunity from a corner, but Kean failed to make proper contact with the ball at the back post. Andrea Frattesi also had to intervene inside his own penalty area to stop Kalulu’s pull-back reaching Doue.
Italy’s attempts to play out from the back continued to create concern, particularly when Donnarumma was involved. France also survived an audacious volley attempt from Sebastiano Esposito after a clipped pass over the defence; the Sassuolo striker failed to connect cleanly.
Pio Esposito won a free-kick after being pushed by Loic Bade, while Cherki regained possession from Calafiori before crossing towards Dembele, who could not control the ball and allowed Donnarumma to gather.
Mancini instructed Kean to remain wide on the left and prepare for long passes from Bastoni. A separate live update noted: “Kevin De Bruyne on target.”
Chatroom reaction questioned whether Italy could conserve energy by allowing France to dominate possession, while also criticising Kean’s wastefulness and his repeated back passes.
