The last tickets are merely the final returns from partners and institutions; the main sale disappeared within minutes. By Friday night, the Stade de France is expected to be full for Zinédine Zidane’s first home match as France coach.
France face Italy in the third round of Nations League group fixtures at 20:45 on Friday, with the 80,000-seat Saint-Denis stadium preparing for a sell-out. A small number of places remained available three days before the game, including in higher-priced categories, but these were tickets initially allocated to partners, public bodies, regional leagues and district organisations before being returned for general sale.
The occasion carries an obvious weight. Zidane will take charge of France on home soil for the first time, returning to the ground most closely tied to his playing legacy with the national team. It was at the Stade de France that he scored twice in France’s 3-0 World Cup final victory over Brazil in 1998, a night that fixed his place in the country’s football history.
A full house for Zidane’s Saint-Denis return
Friday’s Italy match will be France’s first appearance at the Stade de France since March 2025, when Les Bleus beat Croatia 2-0. This time, the focus will be as much on the new man on the touchline as on the Nations League contest itself.
With the original batch of tickets snapped up almost immediately, the remaining late availability does not alter the expectation around the fixture: Saint-Denis will be packed when Zidane steps out as France manager, more than a quarter-century after his two headers helped deliver the country’s first World Cup on the same pitch.
