From France… to France. In Milan, where, at the Arena Civica, Italy took on the French in their first-ever match on 15 May 1910 (a commanding 6-2 victory), the Azzurri will face Les Bleus on Sunday 17 November (kick-off at 20:45 CEST) in their final fixture in Group A2 of the UEFA Nations League. Indeed, the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is ready to host the Azzurri again after previously doing so when Italy beat Ukraine 2-1 in EURO 2024 qualifying in September 2023. A classic of international football awaits, with the two sides having been involved in some legendary matches, including the 2006 World Cup final and the 2000 European Championship final. Meanwhile, the Azzurri’s match against Belgium on Thursday 14 November will take place at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Thursday 14 November.

ITALY IN MILAN. In addition to hosting the National Team’s first-ever match, Milan was also the setting when Italy wore the famous Blue Azzurri shirt for the first time (against Hungary on 6 January 1911). The Lombard capital is second to Rome for having hosted the most Italy games (61 matches: 39 wins, 19 draws and three defeats) and a city where the National Team has played on the pitches of four different venues: Arena Civica, Velodromo Sempione (demolished in 1928), Campo Milan in Viale Lombardia and Stadio San Siro, named after Giuseppe Meazza on 3 March 1980. In Milan, the Azzurri maintained an unbeaten run that lasted almost a century, 96 years to be exact: from January 1925 with a 2-1 win over Hungary (at Campo Milan, while the aforementioned 1911 game against the Hungarians ended in a defeat at the Arena Civica) up until October 2021 with a 2-1 defeat to Spain at the Meazza. The Azzurri’s largest victory in Milan was Italy 9-4 France on 18 January 1920, while Austria are the team they’ve faced the most in the city (six times), followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary and Portugal (five).

THE AZZURRI’S CALENDAR. Italy, who have made the final four in the last two editions of the Nations League, will begin their journey in the competition with two away matches: first against France at the Parc des Princes on Friday 6 September, and then against Israel at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest on Tuesday 10 September. In October, two games in Italy await, first against Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome (Thursday 10 October) and then the return fixture against the Israelis at the Stadio Friuli in Udine (Monday 14 October). The Azzurri’s final game will be at home to France in Milan on 17 November, which will be played three days after they’ve visited Belgium.

UPDATED FORMAT. From September to November 2024, Italy will play six matches against the three opponents in their group. This time around, the League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals in March 2025, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the Final Four (in June 2025). The team that finishes fourth will be relegated to League B, while the third-place side will be involved in a relegation play-off against a runner-up from League B.

League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland
Group A2: ITALY, Belgium, France, Israel
Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

Italy’s 2024/25 UEFA Nations League schedule

6 September 2024: France vs. Italy
9 September 2024: Israel vs. Italy
10 October 2024: Italy vs. Belgium
14 October 2024: Italy vs. Israel
14 November 2024: Belgium vs. Italy
17 November 2024: Italy vs. France

Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024
Knockout round play-offs: 20-25 March 2025
League A quarter-finals: 20-25 March 2025
Final tournament: 4-8 June 2025