Italy and France meet in one of the biggest fixtures of the UEFA Nations League group stage on Thursday night, with the result potentially having a major bearing on who finishes top of Group A1.
France arrive in Milan at the summit with 10 points from four matches, while Italy are three points behind on seven. Belgium are also still in contention on six points, meaning there is very little room for error for the Azzurri.
A win for Italy would take Roberto Mancini’s side level on points with France heading into the final round of matches.
Italy’s Nations League campaign got off to a difficult start when they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Belgium. They responded impressively, however, beating Türkiye 4-1 before travelling to Paris and earning a valuable 1-1 draw against France.
They then defeated Türkiye again, this time 3-1, leaving Mancini’s side in second place with seven points.
Zinedine Zidane’s team have collected 10 points from their opening four matches, winning three and drawing one.
Their only dropped points came against Italy in the 1-1 draw in Paris and remain the team to beat in the competitive group.
France have conceded only twice in four matches and have kept clean sheets in three of their four group fixtures.
They have also been extremely strong away from home in the Nations League, having won their last three away matches in the competition without conceding.
Can Italy hand France their first defeat of the UEFA Nations League campaign? Here is our predicted outcome.
What time does Italy vs France start?
The match kicks off at 10:45PM E.A.T at the San Siro
Italy vs France team news
Roma defender Gianluca Mancini withdrew from the squad because of a muscular injury, with Juventus defender Federico Gatti called up as his replacement.
The Azzurri are also without Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giacomo Raspadori and Moise Kean, all of whom are unavailable because of injuries.
Alessandro Bastoni and Ricardo Calafiori are both expected to start in the defensive line.
Youngster Francesco Pio Esposito has been impressive and will retain his spot in the starting XI to lead the attacking line.
The biggest question concerns Kylian Mbappé, who returned to the squad but has been receiving treatment for a problem. His availability is therefore a major talking point ahead of kick-off.
France are also without William Saliba, Maghnes Akliouche, Ousmane Dembélé, Manu Koné, Pierre Kalulu and Esteban Lepaul because of injuries.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot are both available and will be the key features in the midfield.
Italy vs France head-to-head and current form
Italy and France have one of international football’s most historic rivalries. There have been 42 meetings between the two nations, with Italy holding the historical advantage.
The Nerrazzuri have won 20 games, compared to France’s 12 wins – the remaining 10 have resulted in draws, including the most recent fixture.
Current form:
Italy – WDWLW
France – WDWWL
Italy vs France previous games
- France 1-1 Italy (October 2, 2026)
- Italy 1-3 France (November 17, 2024)
- France 1-3 Italy (September 6, 2024)
- France 3-1 Italy (July 1, 2018)
- Italy 1-3 France (September 1, 2016)
Italy vs France prediction
France are unbeaten in the group, have conceded only twice and have won their last three away Nations League matches without conceding.
Italy have home advantage and enough quality to make this extremely competitive, so the draw should not be discounted.
However, goals may be a safer wager for this game with both teams scoring in all of the last five head-to-head encounters.
Prediction – Both teams to score – PLACE YOUR BET ON THIS GAME HERE!