After four wins and a draw, Italy suffered their first defeat of the year as they lost 3-1 to France in Milan, the same scoreline as the reverse fixture but this time it was Les Bleus who were victorious. Even though the Azzurri had already qualified, a superior goal difference saw Deschamps’ men move into top spot in the final matchday of the UEFA Nations League. Italy will learn their play-off opposition on Friday when the draw takes place in Nyon; the opposition is now certain to be tougher than it could have been.

At a sold-out San Siro - tonight saw the record take for an Italy game (€1.625 million) - much like the reverse fixture at the Parc des Princes, the Azzurri conceded almost immediately. They then went 2-0 down but found the strength to pull one back through Cambiaso. Midway through the second half, however, Rabiot bagged his brace, scoring the goal which secured top spot for France.

“Overall, it’s been a good run,” said Luciano Spalletti. “We’ve seen the boys’ commitment and some good things tonight. It’s true that this defeat creates the odd issue but that shouldn’t take away from the positives.”  Italy struggled to build up tonight and were less clean technically than usual. France’s physicality was a constant source of problems for the Azzurri and their extra height was a bonus in the penalty area: “It could’ve been a much calmer night but we conceded straight away,” Spalletti said. “We didn’t keep our cool. While we did try to control the game, we expended too much energy. They were poor goals to concede. At 2-1, the game seemed to be in the balance and we could’ve controlled it. After the third goal, France shut up shop and it was difficult to find any space.”

THE GAME. There two changes to the side that played in Brussels on Thursday: Vicario replaced Donnarumma (illness) in goal, while Locatella started ahead of Rovella at the base of midfield. Barella played in behind the striker once again and Retegui kept his place up top, with Kean on the bench. Without Mbappé, Deschamps went with Thuram up front alongside Kolo Muani, with Nkunku operating in the space behind the strikers. France had plenty of Serie A players in their line-up; as well as the Inter striker; Maignan started between the sticks, with Roma’s Koné and Lazio’s Guendouzi in a midfield that included former Juventus man Rabiot. They made the difference.

SHOCK START. After the 68,000 fans at the Meazza paid homage to Gigi Riva, it was Rabiot who opened the scoring after just two minutes place, heading home from Digne’s corner. It was the worst possible start, as it was at the Parc des Princes, when Barcola opened the scoring after just a few seconds. Italy looked to hit back through Barella, but Maignan was on hand to make the save. Di Lorenzo then headed off target. Under pressure from the French, Italy struggled to feed Retegui and Deschamps’ midfielders - Koné most of all - seemed to be a step ahead of everyone else on the pitch. The guests doubled their lead in the 33rd, again from a set piece taken by Digne. The former Barcelona full-back, who started in place of the injured Theo Hernandez, whipped his free-kick over the wall; it struck the post before bouncing off Vicario’s back and into the net. 2-0 and France top of the group as it stood.

CAMBIASO’S GOAL NOT ENOUGH. Italy struck back almost instantly. Two minutes after France’s second, Dimarco played a neat one-two with Tonali and sent his cross deep. Frattesi couldn’t get there but Cambiaso was on hand to volley it past Maignan. That was the Juventus full-back’s second Italy goal as he looks to get into the opposition penalty area more and more. After the break, the Azzurri pushed for the all-important equaliser but France didn’t drop off knowing that they needed to win by at least two goals in order to top the group. Nkunku let fly from range, Vicario made the stop. Then, it was Locatelli who failed to hit the target on the half volley. France got their third goal in the 65th minute; another set piece, another Digne assist for Rabiot, who rose highest and headed home. Spalletti looked to his bench, sending on Kean, Raspadori and Rovella in place of Retegui, Frattesi and Locatelli. Cambiaso came close to making it a personal brace before he made way for Maldini, with his father Paolo watching on in the stands. Italy shifted to a 4-3-1-2 for the final push and, at the deat, Maignan produced a stunning stop to deny Kean. Unlucky. Now, we look ahead to the quarter-final draw which takes place on Friday 22 November in Nyon. The draw for World Cup qualifying will then take place in Zurich on 13 December and Italy will be in pot 1.

ITALY 1-3 FRANCE

ITALIA (3-5-1-1): Vicario; Bastoni, Buongiorno, Di Lorenzo; Cambiaso (77' Maldini), Frattesi (66' Raspadori), Locatelli (66' Rovella), Tonali, Dimarco (dal 81' Udogie); Barella; Retegui (66' Kean). Subs: Donnarumma, Meret, Savona, Gatti, Okoli, Comuzzo, Pisilli. Coach: Spalletti

FRANCIA (4-3-1-2): Maignan; Koundé (81' Pavard), Konaté, Saliba, Digne; Guendouzi, Koné, Rabiot; Nkunku; Thuram (77' Barcola), Kolo Muani. Subs: Samba, Chevalier, Upamecano, Olise, Coman, Kanté, Zaire-Emery, Hernandez. Cach: Deschamps.

Goals: 2' and 65' Rabiot (F), 33' og. Vicario (F), 35' Cambiaso (I)

Referr: Vincic (Slovenia). Linesmen: Klancnik and Kovacic (Slovenia). Fourth Official: Obrenovic (Slovenia). VAR: Borosak (Slovenia). AVAR: Jug (Slovenia)

Notes: attendance 68,158. Booked: Frattesi (I), Kolo Muani (F), Guendouzi (F)

 

*Standings: France and Italy 13 points, Belgium and Israel 4.

*The top two teams go through to the quarter-finals. The third-placed team will play a relegation play-off against one of the second-placed teams from League B.