Sports
Zidane takes charge of France at home for first time against Italy in Nations League
October 1, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 10 hours
Zinedine Zidane leads France at home for the first time as head coach when Les Bleus host Italy at the Stade de France.
- France top Group A1 with six points after back-to-back 1-0 wins over Turkiye and Belgium, while Italy have three points.
- Zidane said Friday's match will be "really emotional," his first at the Stade de France since playing there in 2006.
- Mancini left nine players out of his 23-man squad for the match, keeping them at Italy's Coverciano training camp.
- Mancini said facing Zidane will be "a pleasure" but insisted the match is not a duel between the two coaches.