The story of the Italy-France rivalry stretches back to the early 1900s. Fans have been treated to countless World Cup clashes between these sides, with superstars on each team. There’s been two major finals, agonising shootout losses and the most shocking headbutt in the history of football.
It’s never a dull affair between Italy and France and it’ll be no different on Sunday as Les Bleus travel to Milan seeking to top their Nations League group after being stunned 3-1 at home by the Azzurri in September. So will it be revenge or a repeat this weekend?
It’s been two months since Italy’s dream evening in Paris saw Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori strike to hand France a humbling victory in their opening Nations League clash. That trio of goals came after Bradley Barcola had given the hosts the lead in the first 12 seconds. Even the presence of Kylian Mbappe couldn’t help the French avoid defeat.
Since then, Italy have won twice against Israel and got four points from two matches against Belgium to be in the top spot for their group going into this final showdown. France, meanwhile, recovered with three straight victories before their disappointing 0-0 draw against Israel, diminishing their hopes of winning the group.
None of these teams will want to finish at the runner-up if they have serious ambitions about winning the competition. France, who won the 2021 edition of this tournament, would be faced with a semi-final clash against Spain, Germany or Portugal if they can’t overtake Italy in their group.
France were red-hot favourites to win Euro 2024 and were stunned by Spain in the semi-finals. It’s fair to say Didier Deschamps’ men have somewhat underperformed since their 2018 World Cup triumph, given they are strongly backed to win every tournament they enter and they have won none since.
Before the Israel result, France had been in excellent form and even without Mbappe, who was injured for the three games after the Italy defeat. Randal Kolo Muani has four goals in his last five appearances for his country, while Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise is a refreshing new face in the line-up after his big move from Crystal Palace to the Bundesliga.
This is also a chance for redemption for the Italians, who were disappointingly dumped out of the Euros. The four-time world champions and two-time European champions are something of a mixed bag of late. They won the 2020 Euros, didn’t even qualify for the 2022 World Cup and then underperformed at the latest European Championships — dumped out of the last-16 by Switzerland.
You can expect Deschamps to make a couple of changes from the team in the Israel draw, but not too many to ensure they remain competitive. William Saliba, Christopher Nkunku, Kingsley Coman and Marcus Thuram are among the players who will be hoping to start after being benched last time out. Italy have options like Destiny Udogie, Raspadori and Manuel Locatelli, who could come in from the cold.
Italy vs France odds
Odds from Betfair and updated as of 6 p.m. GMT Friday.
- Italy win: 17/10 (+170)
- Draw: 9/4 (+225)
- France win: 13/8 (+163)
Venue: San Siro — Milan
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT (2:45 p.m. ET), Sunday
Form guide
Nations League only
Italy: 4-1-0, 13 points (1st in Group A2), W-W-D-W-W
France: 3-1-1, 10 points (2nd in Group A2), D-W-W-W-L
Match prediction
Italy 1-2 France
I would imagine we’ll witness a very different kind of game this time around after France were given a wake-up call against Italy two months ago. Italy have lost the element of surprise and the French will have learnt their lesson. Following up their Euros exit with a humiliating loss to their rivals was a huge pill to swallow for Deschamps and he’ll be eager to put things right. France have fared well against top level opposition — impressively beating Belgium home and away in this group — and I can see them settling the score against Italy. However, with Italy’s two-goal win in France, the Azzurri should still top the group.
More international coverage
England vs Republic of Ireland: What England need to do to secure Nations League promotion
Thibaut Courtois tells Belgium he remains unavailable for selection in meeting over future
Lamine Yamal out of Spain squad with ankle injury, expected to miss 2-3 weeks
When Lionel Messi played West Ham Under-21s: ‘What the hell are you doing in Romford?’
(Photo of Alessandro Buongiorno: Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)
