A gift, then a fightback
France started the night with a present from Gianluigi Donnarumma. They ended it well beaten. Italy won 3-1 at San Siro in the fifth round of the Nations League group stage, turning the game around after a poor first ten minutes.
The opener came from a goalkeeping error. Donnarumma botched a clearance, handed the ball straight to Michael Olise, and Olise beat his man before rolling it in on 10 minutes. It didn’t last. Just past the 25-minute mark Nicolo Cambiaghi skipped past Malo Gusto on the left and drilled a low cross into the box, where Pio Esposito arrived to finish.
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A miss, then a turn
Gusto had a rough night. His foul on Cambiaghi gave Italy a penalty just before the hour, but Sebastiano Esposito dragged his kick well wide of Mike Maignan’s right post. France were let off. Not for long.
Roberto Mancini then sent on Federico Dimarco and Vergara, and the change paid off almost at once. With his first touch Dimarco pulled a cutback to Davide Frattesi, who put Italy in front on 63 minutes. Twelve minutes later Dayot Upamecano brought down Vergara in the box, and this time Pio Esposito took the penalty himself and scored it for his second of the night.
What it means for France
Zinedine Zidane came to Milan without Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, and with a young squad. Olise’s late free kick went over, and France never really threatened a comeback. They had hoped to seal their quarter-final place here. Instead Sunday’s home game against Türkiye carries more weight, while Italy head to Belgium.
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