Zinedine Zidane’s first match as France manager at the Stade de France ended without the celebration Paris expected. France led Italy through Michael Olise, controlled long stretches of the game and created enough pressure to extend Zidane’s winning start, but Alessandro Bastoni’s equaliser and a late red card for Dayot Upamecano turned the night into a 1-1 draw.
The result did not remove France from the top of their Nations League group. It did, however, provide a more useful test than the victories that opened Zidane’s tenure. Italy forced France to deal with a game that changed shape, punished a mistake and then made the final minutes uncomfortable.
For a coach still establishing his principles, that kind of resistance is valuable. France could not simply rely on superior individual quality; they had to solve a disciplined opponent while protecting themselves against transitions.
Olise is becoming central to Zidane’s attacking idea
Michael Olise’s goal in the 55th minute was the clearest expression of what Zidane wants from this France side. Rather than treating wide attackers as players who must stay fixed to the touchline, France are giving them freedom to move inside and combine around the penalty area.
Olise has the technical quality to receive under pressure, but his most valuable trait for France may be his timing. He can slow a possession down, wait for a defender to shift and then accelerate the attack with one touch. Against Italy, that patience was important because Roberto Mancini’s side were happy to defend in compact spaces.
France have no shortage of explosive forwards. Zidane’s challenge is creating a structure that allows them to play together without the game becoming a collection of individual actions. Olise looks increasingly capable of connecting those pieces.
Italy exposed the risk in France’s build-up
Bastoni’s equaliser came after France lost control of a situation they would normally expect to manage. That is the type of moment coaches notice more than possession percentages. France had the ball, had the territory and appeared comfortable, yet one poorly managed sequence allowed Italy back into the game.
This is the trade-off in Zidane’s approach. France are trying to play with more freedom and more numbers around the ball. That can make them harder to defend, but it also means the rest defence behind the attack has to be precise. If the spacing is wrong, the opponent does not need many passes to move into dangerous territory.
The draw also showed why Italy remain an awkward opponent even when they are not controlling possession. They stayed in the match, trusted Gianluigi Donnarumma to make important saves and waited for France to leave an opening.
Upamecano’s red card changed the final phase
Dayot Upamecano’s late dismissal prevented France from mounting the kind of sustained final push that might otherwise have followed the equaliser. It also placed extra pressure on a defence that had already been stretched by Italy’s counter-attacking threat.
Upamecano remains one of France’s most important defenders because of his recovery speed and ability to defend large spaces. Those qualities are particularly valuable in a team that wants to hold a higher line. But aggressive defending comes with risk, and international matches can turn on one mistimed intervention.
Zidane will not want to remove that aggression. The more important task is ensuring his centre-backs are not repeatedly left to solve transitions alone.
Maignan and the goalkeeper question
Mike Maignan’s role also remains central to the new France. He is expected to defend the box, start attacks and support a higher defensive line. The Football Xtra recently looked at how Fabien Barthez has become a new voice around France’s goalkeepers, and the Italy match reinforced how demanding the position is in Zidane’s system.
A draw may tell Zidane more than another comfortable win
France had started Zidane’s reign with wins over Turkey and Belgium. Those results created momentum, but international management is usually defined by what happens when the original plan stops working. Italy supplied that problem.
France had to respond to an equaliser, manage a red card and find ways through a goalkeeper in excellent form. They did not find the winner, but the match revealed where the next stage of the team’s development has to happen.
There is already evidence that Zidane wants a France side more comfortable with the ball than some recent versions of the national team. The attacking freedom is visible. The next step is controlling the moments immediately after possession is lost.
That will matter quickly. France’s Nations League schedule offers little time for experimentation, and the group remains competitive. The Football Xtra’s look at Zidane’s first away tests highlighted how quickly expectations have changed around the team. The draw with Italy did not reverse that progress; it simply made the weaknesses easier to see.
Read Here: Reuters’ report from France 1-1 Italy.
Images: Bryan Berlin / WikiPortraits, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
