France v Italy: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

France host Italy on Friday night in the Nations League. Can Zinedine Zidane maintain his 100% record in charge of Les Bleus?

Jon Fisher

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France v Italy: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

UEFA Nations League, League A – 3

France FRA

2/10/2026 19:45

Italy ITA

: Stade de France
: Jesus Gil Manzano

Preview for France v Italy

The Zinedine Zidane effect will be on full show tomorrow night when France face Italy in front of an expectant crowd in Paris.

The former Les Bleus midfielder has brought in a wave of optimism following his appointment as successor to the long-serving Didier Deschamps. Two successive 1-0 away wins has seen reasons for optimism on the pitch and that has been matched off it with tickets for the game with the Azzurri selling out in minutes.

France have looked solid in their opening two Nations League games, winning in Turkey before a late wonder goal from Michael Olise gave them victory over Belgium on Monday night. Zidane’s exuberant celebrations, charging down the touchline before booting a stray ball as hard as he could, typified the emotion he has brought to the role following the pragmatic approach adopted by Deschamps.

Zidane does, of course, have history with Italy. After five glorious seasons with Juventus, he then turned pantomime villain in the country after head butting Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final, a game Italy eventually won on penalties.

Italy will arrive in France looking to rebuild their shattered reputation after failing to reach the World Cup for the third successive time earlier this year.

Roberto Mancini was brought back in for a second spell in charge and the results so far have been mixed. A home defeat to Belgium hinted at a continuation of their recent struggles but the manner of their 4-1 win in Turkey last time out has offered hope the man who led them to the Euro 2020 crown could spark a revival.

A trip to the Stade de France is another key indicator of their progress. A draw would be a fantastic result for Italy and offer hope for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.

Nations League Group A1 Table

League A – Group A

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	France	2	2	0	2	0	2	6	W W
2	Belgium	2	1	1	2	1	1	3	L W
3	Italy	2	1	1	4	3	1	3	W L
4	Türkiye	2	0	2	1	5	-4	0	L L

Position 1, 2 : Play Offs: Quarter-finals
Position 3 : Relegation Playoffs
Position 4 : Relegation

Team News for France v Italy

Zidane opted to make nine changes for the game with Belgium but several big-hitters are poised to return, including Olise and current Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele. Captain Kylian Mbappe remains sidelined due to a knee injury sustained against Turkey.

Mancini named a large squad for this elongated international break and the Italian FA confirmed on Thursday morning that nine players – Honest Ahanor, Nicolò Cambiaghi, Diego Coppola, Daniele Ghilardi, Samuele Inacio, Eddy Kouadio, Rolando Mandragora, Massimo Pessina, Alessandro Romano – would remain at Coverciano and not make the trip to France.

Expected line-ups for France v Italy

France: Maignan; Kalulu, Upamecano, Lacroix, Truffert; Cherki, Kone, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Doue

Italy: Donnarumma; Kayode, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Barella, Fagioli, Tonali; Cambiaghi, P Esposito, Maldini

Recent Form & Stats for France v Italy

Italy hold the upper hand overall. They have won 20 of their previous 41 meetings. France have won 12 with nine draws.
The away side won both of the last Nations League meetings. Italy won 3-1 in Paris and France won 3-1 at San Siro in the 2024-25 campaign. None of the last five games between the two has been a draw.
Michael Olise has been involved in 13 goals in 14 France games in 2026. That includes coming off the bench to score the winner against Belgium.
Francesco Pio Esposito has six goals in 11 games for Italy. The 21-year-old scored and set up a goal in the 4-1 win over Turkey.