Saint-Denis is preparing for a France–Italy meeting shaped as much by memory as by the Nations League table. Zinedine Zidane will take charge of the Bleus at the Stade de France for the first time, returning to the ground where his two goals against Brazil delivered the 1998 World Cup, while Roberto Mancini brings an Italy side still being reshaped after an uneven opening to its campaign.
Zidane returns to a defining stage
France have made a perfect start under Zidane in Nations League Group A1, winning 1-0 away to both Turkey and Belgium. The Italy match is his first home fixture since assuming the national-team post, and it comes at a stadium inseparable from his playing legacy.
- In the 1998 World Cup final at Saint-Denis, Zidane scored twice as France defeated Brazil 3-0.
- His final match as a player was also against Italy, in the 2006 World Cup final.
- That game ended 1-1 before Italy prevailed on penalties, after Zidane was sent off in extra time for his headbutt on Marco Materazzi.
Reflecting on the incident two decades on, Zidane said he was not proud of what happened, while stressing that he had already acknowledged it. He added that he did not regret it, noting that people are capable of actions that are not always good.
Italy arrive with a point to prove
Mancini’s Italy come to France after a mixed pair of Nations League results. The Azzurri were beaten 2-0 by Belgium before responding emphatically with a 4-1 victory in Turkey.
Zidane is wary of an opponent whose recent record contains a striking absence from the sport’s biggest stage: Italy have missed the last three World Cups. Yet their response in Turkey underlined the quality still available to Mancini, who has returned to the Italy job three years after leaving it.
Mancini has continued to rotate from the extensive group selected for the first four Nations League matchdays. Having left 10 players at Coverciano for the Turkey fixture, he has omitted nine from the travelling plans for Saint-Denis:
- Ahanor
- Cambiaghi
- Coppola
- Ghilardi
- Samuele Inacio
- Kouadio
- Mandragora
- Pessina
- Romano
Mancini looks beyond the managerial reunion
The Italian coach framed the occasion as a meeting between two major national sides rather than a personal contest with Zidane. He said playing France would be a pleasure and a valuable test, one capable of revealing much about his developing squad.
Mancini expects a high-level contest against a French group featuring Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Désiré Doué. He argued that France’s strength runs so deep that it would take every player falling ill for the side to lose its standing.
Italy, he insisted, will not travel north merely to protect their goal. The intention is to leave a positive impression in Saint-Denis and to play for victory, in a fixture carrying the weight of old World Cup nights as well as the immediate demands of Group A1.
