It wasn't just another match for Zinedine Zidane. In his early days as France's coach, this Friday he faced his first home match. And against Italy no less, 20 years after the final of Germany 2006, in which he was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi, an image that would go down in posterity. The French drew 1-1 with the Italians, in the UEFA Nations League.
It was Zizou's return to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the place where he became world champion in 1998, being the figure of the victory over Brazil, to win the first star for his national team. Now it was different, because the former Real Madrid coach leads a new project, with the high bar set by the long era of Didier Deschamps.
With similar systems, the teams took different approaches. While France opted for possession from the start, Italy chose order and being a compact team. The Azzurri had the clearest chances to score in the first 45 minutes, despite ceding the spotlight. In the 8th minute, Moise Kean missed the 1-0. Strictly speaking, Maignan prevented it with a great save.
The French 4-3-3 featured Ousmane Dembélé playing as the 9, in place of a Kylian Mbappé who left the training camp due to injury. The PSG man, also captain, drifted out of his position, lacking the characteristics of a positional striker. Les Bleus controlled the ball, with greater or lesser intensity, but they lacked the final touch in the…
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It was not just another match for Zinedine Zidane. In his early days as France's coach, this Friday he faced his first home match. And against Italy no less, 20 years after the Germany 2006 final, in which he was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi, an image that would go down in the history books of the World Cups. The French drew 1-1 with the Italians, in the UEFA Nations League. It was Zizou's return to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the place where he became world champion in 1998, being the star of the victory over Brazil, winning the first star for his national team. Now it was different, because the former Real Madrid coach leads a new process, with the high bar left by the long era of Didier Deschamps. With similar schemes, the teams had different stances. While France bet on possession from the start, Italy opted for order and being a compact team. The Azzurra had the clearest chances to score in the first 45 minutes, despite ceding the spotlight. In the 8th minute, Moise Kean missed the 1-0. In fact, Maignan prevented it with a great save. The French 4-3-3 featured Ousmane Dembélé playing as a 9, in place of a Kylian Mbappé who left the camp due to injury. The PSG player, also captain, drifted out of his position as he lacked the characteristics of a positional 9. Les Bleus controlled the ball, with greater or lesser intensity, but lacked the final touch in front of goal. Meanwhile, the Nazionale managed to create danger for the French. In fact, before the break, Frattesi had a clear chance with a shot from a set-piece play and, later, a goal by Kean was disallowed. After having 64% possession in the first half and only one shot on target, France was more direct. At the start of the second half, they warned twice, forcing a couple of saves from Donnarumma. Those warnings would materialize in the 55th minute, when Michael Olise opened the scoring with a stunner. From a free kick, Cherki moves the ball and the Bayern Munich star strikes with a precise shot. Crossbar and goal. The French supremacy intensified through ball control, against an Italy that did little damage. But since football does not necessarily follow logic, Mancini's squad managed to stay in the fight by finding a surprising equalizer. In the 68th minute, Alessandro Bastoni took advantage of a defensive lapse by the opposition to make it 1-1. The Inter defender steals a ball from Da Cunha in the opponent's half and finished with his left foot past Maignan's hasty exit. First goal conceded by France in the Zidane era. Regardless of the statistics, the match entered another state, with uncertainty installed. On one side, Donnarumma kept the Italians alive thanks to his saves. On the other, the French were down to 10 due to the second yellow card received by Upamecano, 5 minutes from the end. After three matchdays, France leads Group 1 of League A with 7 points. Belgium follows with 6. The Red Devils, coached by the Dutchman Mark van Bommel, defeated Vincenzo Montella's Turkey 3-0. The Italians reach 4 points, in third place. NEWSLETTER El Deportivo Monday, 8:45 AM A special selection with coverage and analysis of the most important sporting events of the weekend, by the La Tercera Sports team. By subscribing you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.