Italy fell behind after 12 seconds but came back to beat France 3-1 in a highly entertaining opening match of Nations League A Group 2 on Friday.
Bradley Barcola scored the goal in the first minute when he surprised Giovanni Di Lorenzo while he was napping, ran into the penalty area and curled his shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Italy equalised after half an hour when Federico Dimarco volleyed home a clever backheel pass from Sandro Tonali. After a tense first half, the two teams went into the break on equal terms.
Five minutes after the break, France faltered again: Davide Frattesi put Italy in the lead and Giacomo Raspadori gave the visitors the breathing room they needed to silence the spectators at the Parc des Prince in the 74th minute.
Both teams went into the game hoping to redeem themselves after their disappointing performances at Euro 2024, but it was Italy who took the much-needed victory.
The guests started the game terribly: Di Lorenzo took far too long to pass back, Barcola took advantage of the opportunity and scored his first international goal.
After a hectic start to the game, Italy had the chance to equalise five minutes later, but Frattesi headed the ball onto the crossbar from close range.
Donnarumma, on his debut, kept out shots from Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise before Italy equalised, with Tonali’s assist as impressive as the shot that found the back of the net.
Tonali, back in the team after serving a ten-month suspension for breaching betting rules, played a beautiful one-two with Dimarco, who continued his run into the box and fired a beautiful left-footed volley out of reach of Maignan.
“Great game. We were afraid he (Tonali) wouldn’t be able to last 90 minutes, but in the end he showed two good bursts. We found another very strong player,” Italy coach Luciano Spalletti told RAI.
Italy were the quickest out of the gates in the second half and Retegui’s perfect pass across the goal found Frattesi, who slid in and fired a shot past Maignan at the near post. A few minutes later, Maignan had to bend down to save Frattesi’s header from a corner.
The all-important third goal came from a combination of two substitutes in the second half. Destiny Udogie passed to Raspadori, who ran into the box, and he rounded William Saliba and shot past the onrushing Maignan.
France increased the pressure and looked for a way back, but Italy held firm and took all three points.
In Thursday’s other group match, Belgium beat Israel 3-1 and in the next round of matches on Monday, France hosts Belgium while Italy faces Israel away in Budapest.
