Zinedine Zidane experienced his inaugural home match as the head coach of France, resulting in a 1-1 tie against Italy in the Nations League on Friday. The Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma delivered an impressive series of saves, much to the disappointment of the crowd at Stade de France. The match concluded with France down a player due to Dayot Upamecano’s late red card.
France took the lead in the 55th minute when Michael Olise scored with a curling effort that struck the crossbar before finding the net, following a quick free-kick taken by Rayan Cherki. However, Italy equalized midway through the second half, as defender Alessandro Bastoni capitalized on defensive lapses to slot a low shot past the post.
Earlier, Moise Kean had a missed opportunity for Italy, directing a shot straight at goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Donnarumma showcased his skills with a double save against Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué shortly after halftime, followed by a remarkable low save against Adrien Rabiot just moments after Italy scored.
Upamecano’s dismissal came late in the match after he received a second yellow card, but France continued to search for a winning goal. In stoppage time, Donnarumma again intervened, pushing away a shot from Eduardo Camavinga to secure a draw.
After the match, Zidane expressed his disappointment over not securing a win for the fans, yet he conveyed his joy about being back at Stade de France. “I am pleased with the team’s performance, though not the result. We had opportunities to score again but couldn’t capitalize. However, I am incredibly proud of my players,” he stated.
Italy’s coach, Roberto Mancini, praised his team’s performance, noting, “This was a commendable display against one of the world’s top teams, highlighting several positive aspects. We are progressing in the right direction and must continue playing this way.”
France remains at the top of Group A1, one point ahead of Belgium, who secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Turkey in Liège. The two nations will meet again on Monday at Stade de France, while Italy will face Turkey in Bologna.
In Belgium’s match, Kevin De Bruyne, playing his 127th game for the national team, opened the scoring with a composed finish from the edge of the box after a clever one-two with Dodi Lukebakio. Although Turkey had periods of attacking threat, they failed to equalize and were punished shortly after De Bruyne’s initial goal.
De Bruyne netted his second in the 59th minute, curling a shot from outside the area into the top corner, leaving Turkey’s goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir helpless. Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, added a third goal in the 76th minute, converting from a low cross by Charles De Ketelaere.
In League B, Northern Ireland surprised Ukraine with a 3-0 victory in Slovakia, placing them at the top of their group and enhancing their promotion prospects.
Ciaron Brown, the only player in Michael O’Neill’s starting squad older than 24, scored twice around a goal from Isaac Price in Trnava. This win gives Northern Ireland seven points from three matches, and they have yet to concede a goal ahead of their upcoming clash with Georgia in Belfast.
Northern Ireland started strongly, with Kieran Morrison delivering a corner to the back post where Ruairi McConville headed it back for Brown, who managed to score despite Illia Zabarnyi’s efforts to clear the ball off the line.
Georgiy Sudakov had Ukraine’s first opportunity but his shot in the 19th minute was easily saved by keeper Pierce Charles. Moments later, Northern Ireland struck again with Morrison’s accurate delivery met by Price, who scored with a powerful header from the back post, earning Morrison an assist in his first official international match.
Brown’s second goal came in an unusual manner just after the hour mark. The 28-year-old defender attempted to flick on a free-kick from Pierce Charles, but Ukraine’s goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk let the ball slip through his legs, sealing a remarkable win for Northern Ireland.
“This is a fantastic result for us and a great performance,” O’Neill remarked. “The early goal helped us settle in. The second goal was exceptional, as we worked the play effectively. The third goal was fortunate, but it’s essential to take advantage of errors from the opposition. Overall, our performance was outstanding; we limited our opponents to crosses and shots from outside the box and defended excellently,” he added.
In another Group B2 match, Milos Kerkez scored the only goal for Hungary in their 1-0 victory over Georgia, placing the Magyars level with Ukraine in second place with four points from three matches.
Edin Dzeko concluded his international career during Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 1-1 draw with Sweden, leaving the field after 63 minutes of his 152nd cap, with the hosts behind after Viktor Gyökeres scored just two minutes earlier. Kerim Alajbegovic salvaged a draw with a goal in the 80th minute.
In another fixture, Poland dominated Romania with a 6-0 victory, featuring a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski. Radu Dragusin received a red card in the 22nd minute for a foul on Lewandowski, who converted the subsequent penalty. Lewandowski scored again in the 47th and 86th minutes, with contributions from Piotr Zielinski, Jan Bednarek, and an own goal from Virgil Ghita rounding out the scoring in Warsaw.
The Faroe Islands managed an impressive 1-1 home draw against Group C3 leaders Slovakia, with Adrian Justinussen equalizing in the second half after a Gunnar Vatnhamar own goal had put Slovakia ahead. Moldova climbed to second in the group after a 2-1 away win against Kazakhstan.
In the same tier, Vasilije Adzic scored twice as Group C2 leaders Montenegro secured a 2-1 victory in Latvia, while Cyprus triumphed over Armenia with a 2-0 scoreline despite Kostas Pileas receiving a red card in the second half.
