UEFA Nations League,
League A – 5
Italy
ITA
France
FRA
-
Venue
- San Siro/Giuseppe Meazza
Preview for Italy v France
Zinédine Zidane’s France can secure a place in the Nations League quarter-finals at San Siro on Thursday night. They lead Group A1 by three points from Italy, and 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 strike.
France have been the more consistent side, taking 10 points from their first four games and conceding only twice. They have won both of their away games 1-0, and they remain unbeaten in the competition.
They have shown a willingness to persevere as well. In their last outing, at home to Belgium, they trailed heading into the final 15 minutes but then blew the Red Devils away in the final quarter an hour with Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki turning the game around before Olise added two late goals in a 4-1 win.
Italy are second in the pool 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 bad recent memories of facing France in Milan. France won 3-1 there in the last Nations League campaign, a few months after Italy had won 3-1 in Paris.
There’s added motivation for Italy after missing out on the 2026 World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals and finished fourth.
The Nations League Table
UEFA Nations League 2026
World
League A – Group A
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
France |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
W
D
W
W
|
| 2 |
Italy |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
W
D
W
L
|
| 3 |
Belgium |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
L
W
L
W
|
| 4 |
Türkiye |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 0 |
L
L
L
L
|
- Position 1, 2 : Play Offs: Quarter-finals
- Position 3, 4 : Possible Play-off
Team News for Italy v France
Italy are without defender Gianluca Mancini, who is injured, with Federico Gatti called up as his replacement. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giacomo Raspadori and Moise Kean are also sidelined. Nicolo Zaniolo withdrew on Tuesday due to personal reasons.
For France, Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi has replaced injured Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram, who picked up a right hamstring issue in his club’s win over Como.
Bayern Munich centre-half Dayot Upamecano is back from suspension.
Expected line-ups for Italy v 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
Recent Form & Stats for Italy v France
- 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
Recent Results : Italy
-
UEFA Nations League
Italy
ITA
W 3 – 1 2026-10-05
Türkiye
TUR
-
UEFA Nations League
France
FRA
D 1 – 1 2026-10-02
Italy
ITA
-
UEFA Nations League
Türkiye
TUR
W 1 – 4 2026-09-28
Italy
ITA
-
UEFA Nations League
Italy
ITA
L 0 – 2 2026-09-25
Belgium
BEL
-
Friendlies
Greece
GRE
W 0 – 1 2026-06-07
Italy
ITA
Recent Results : France
-
UEFA Nations League
France
FRA
W 4 – 1 2026-10-05
Belgium
BEL
-
UEFA Nations League
France
FRA
D 1 – 1 2026-10-02
Italy
ITA
-
UEFA Nations League
Belgium
BEL
W 0 – 1 2026-09-28
France
FRA
-
UEFA Nations League
Türkiye
TUR
W 0 – 1 2026-09-25
France
FRA
-
World Cup
France
FRA
L 0 – 2 2026-07-14
Spain
ESP
Where to Watch Italy v France: TV and online streams
Italy v France kicks off at 7:45pm GMT (8:45pm local time) on Thursday, November 12 at San Siro in Milan.
The match is live on Prime Video‘s pay-per-view service and is available for £2.49. In the US, it’s on FOX Sports at 2:45pm ET.
Prediction for Italy v France
Italy will be competitive but France have superior players all over the field. If Zidane can get his tactics right then the visitors ought to claim all three points.
Match Prediction
Italy
France
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