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Italy delivered an impressive performance to defeat France 3-1 at the San Siro on Thursday night, overturning an early deficit through Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Frattesi before the young striker completed his brace from the penalty spot.
The victory handed France manager Zinedine Zidane his first defeat in charge of the national team, while Roberto Mancini’s Italy moved to the top of their UEFA Nations League group ahead of their final fixture.
France began the encounter brightly and almost opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Adrien Rabiot connected with a close-range header. However, Gianluigi Donnarumma produced an excellent save to deny the midfielder and keep Italy level.
The visitors did not have to wait much longer to find the breakthrough. In the 10th minute, Donnarumma made a costly mistake while attempting to play the ball out from the back, allowing Michael Olise to take possession.
The French winger capitalised on the goalkeeper’s error, created space with a clever piece of skill to escape Alessandro Bastoni’s challenge and calmly guided a right-footed effort into the bottom corner to give France a 1-0 lead.
Italy responded by increasing their attacking intensity, refusing to allow the early setback to dictate the remainder of the contest.
France nearly doubled their advantage when midfielder Lucas Da Cunha threatened with a dangerous effort, but the hosts gradually began to find their rhythm.
Their persistence paid off in the 26th minute when Nicolò Cambiaghi produced an excellent attacking move down the right before delivering a low pass into the penalty area.
Francesco Pio Esposito was perfectly positioned to meet the delivery and finished with a first-time effort from close range, leaving Mike Maignan with little opportunity to react as Italy restored parity at 1-1.
The hosts immediately threatened to complete their comeback. Just a minute after the equaliser, Sebastiano Esposito tested Maignan with a dangerous attempt, forcing the French goalkeeper to produce a save and push the ball behind for a corner.
France also came close to regaining the advantage before the interval. Bradley Barcola produced a curling effort from the edge of the penalty area, but his attempt struck the foot of the far post, leaving Italy fortunate to avoid falling behind again.
Both sides returned for the second half with the match still delicately balanced, and France initially looked capable of restoring their lead.
Rayan Cherki tested Donnarumma with a powerful long-range strike, but the Italian goalkeeper reacted brilliantly to push the ball onto the post and preserve the scoreline.
Italy quickly responded at the other end, with Cambiaghi forcing Maignan into an important close-range save as the encounter developed into an entertaining end-to-end contest.
The hosts were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 60th minute when Malo Gusto brought down Cambiaghi inside the penalty area, prompting the referee to award a spot kick.
Sebastiano Esposito stepped forward to take responsibility, but the Italian forward failed to convert, firing his penalty wide of the target and allowing France to escape without conceding.
However, Italy refused to let the missed opportunity affect their confidence.
Just three minutes later, the Azzurri finally completed their comeback. Federico Dimarco, who had recently entered the game as a substitute, delivered an excellent ball into the penalty area, where Davide Frattesi arrived to meet it and fired a clinical finish past Maignan.
The goal sent the San Siro into celebration as Italy moved ahead 2-1 in the 63rd minute.
France attempted to respond, but Italy continued to threaten whenever they moved forward, with their attacking substitutions providing additional energy and movement.
Their pressure eventually produced another breakthrough in the 75th minute when substitute Antonio Vergara was brought down inside the penalty area by Dayot Upamecano.
The referee immediately pointed to the spot, giving Italy another opportunity to extend their advantage.
This time, Francesco Pio Esposito took responsibility. The Inter Milan striker showed composure to send his penalty into the bottom corner, beating Maignan and making it 3-1.
The goal completed his brace and effectively ended France’s hopes of recovering from the two-goal deficit.
Zidane’s side continued searching for a response, but Italy remained organised defensively and managed the closing stages with confidence.
The final whistle confirmed a memorable 3-1 victory for the Azzurri, who had recovered from Olise’s early strike to produce an impressive comeback in front of more than 70,000 supporters at the San Siro.
For Italy, the result represented another encouraging step under Mancini, with Pio Esposito emerging as the standout performer after scoring twice, while Frattesi’s contribution proved equally important.
France, meanwhile, will be disappointed with the manner in which they surrendered their early advantage, particularly after creating several dangerous opportunities and hitting the woodwork twice.
The defeat also marked a difficult night for Zidane, who suffered his first loss since taking charge of the French national team.
Italy now turn their attention to their final group encounter against Belgium, knowing that a draw will be enough to secure qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals.
