Zidane Comments on Italy's Victory over France

Zinedine Zidane, the Head Coach of France, stated that Italy "played better in Paris, but they won this evening" after suffering his first defeat as the head coach of the French national team. The match took place at the San Siro Stadium on November 12, 2026, during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase.

France initially took the lead when Michael Olise capitalized on a mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma in the back, but Italy quickly equalized with a goal from Francesco Pio Esposito. France's hopes were dashed when Sebastiano Esposito missed a penalty, which proved to be a turning point. Italy managed to come back and win the match 3-1, with goals from Davide Frattesi and another penalty successfully converted by Pio Esposito.

Zidane reflected on the match's events, admitting that France did not maintain their performance after halftime, especially defensively. "We had a good initial approach and held the ball well, but after the break, we lost our way," he said during the post-match press conference. Prior to this game, France had not scored in the first half of their last nine matches, making this situation unusual.

The coach lamented the team's inability to perform at their best, particularly in the second half after falling behind 2-1. "It is part of the process," he noted, as injuries heavily impacted the squad, with key players like Marcus Thuram, Pierre Kalulu, Manu Koné, Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Aurelien Tchouameni, William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Maghnes Akliouche, and Esteban Lepaul missing the match.

Zidane defended Malo Gusto, who faced challenges as right-back against Italy's Nicolò Cambiaghi and Federico Dimarco. "Your job is to analyse what you need to analyse, but my focus is on recharging the batteries for the next game," Zidane commented regarding the Chelsea defender. Despite Gusto conceding a penalty, Zidane affirmed that such things can occur in football.

In terms of overall team performance, Zidane acknowledged the squad's struggles. "You cannot always play at the top level for 90 minutes... the whole team fell away in the second half," he said. He expressed disappointment about not winning to secure first place for the upcoming match against Turkiye, which remains a priority.

This loss marked Zidane's inability to defeat Italy in his coaching tenure, having previously drawn 1-1 in Paris and now facing a 3-1 defeat. He noted the importance of creating opportunities and mentioned that France hit the woodwork twice during the match. "I am not disappointed... What we need to analyse is that we weren’t at the right level off the ball," he concluded. Zidane also commented on Kylian Mbappé’s absence, expressing hope he would recover in time for the final group game against Turkiye on Sunday.