Sports
Olise free kick earns France 1-1 Nations League draw with Italy
October 2, 2026 at 08:58 PM · Updated 13d ago
Coverage
20 reports · 17 in Arabic, 3 in English · over 13 hours
France drew 1-1 with Italy in their third Nations League match on Friday, with Michael Olise and Alessandro Bastoni scoring.
- Michael Olise scored France's opener in the 55th minute with a direct free kick — his first such goal in 558 days and his ninth international strike.
- Alessandro Bastoni equalized for Italy in the 68th minute to make it 1-1.
- France defender Dayot Upamecano received a red card in the 87th minute.
- Zinedine Zidane received a tribute from the Stade de France crowd before the match.
- The 1-1 draw ended France's winning start under new head coach Zinedine Zidane, who had won his first two matches.
- Bastoni's equalizer came after a defensive error by France's Lucas Da Cunha.
- With the draw, France remain top of Group A1 on seven points, one ahead of Belgium, while Italy sit third on four.
- Italy coach Roberto Mancini called his team's display “perfect” and described the result as another step forward for the Azzurri.
- The match was Zidane's first meeting with Italy since France's 2006 World Cup final defeat.
- Upamecano's sending-off revived memories of Zidane's red card in the 2006 World Cup final, when he headbutted Marco Materazzi.
- Italy coach Roberto Mancini hailed Gianluigi Donnarumma as the world's best goalkeeper and said the keeper was decisive in the draw.
- France coach Zinedine Zidane expressed disappointment, praised his players' commitment, and said Italy played defensively ahead of Monday's clash with Belgium.














