Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice to hand Zinedine Zidane his first defeat as France head coach, as Italy stormed back to secure a 3-1 victory at San Siro and move to the top of their Nations League group.
Michael Olise capitalized on a Gianluigi Donnarumma error to give the visitors an early lead, but Italy responded through Esposito and Davide Frattesi with goals on either side of half-time. Esposito’s second came from the penalty spot after his brother, Sebastiano, had previously missed a spot-kick, while France were twice denied by the woodwork in a lively contest.
The win lifts Italy to the summit of Group A1 with 10 points, level with France but ahead on head-to-head record. Belgium sit third on nine points after handing bottom-placed Turkiye a fifth consecutive defeat.
Despite missing star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele through injury, France made an electric start in the pouring rain in Milan. Desire Doue struck the side-netting, debutant captain Adrien Rabiot tested Donnarumma, and Lucas Da Cunha saw a half-volley fly narrowly wide.
The breakthrough arrived in the 10th minute courtesy of a goalkeeper mistake. Donnarumma played a pass straight to Olise, who evaded a defender before firing home his fifth goal in five Nations League appearances—a tally surpassed only by Harry Kane’s seven for England.
Italy equalized with their first meaningful attack in the 26th minute. Nicolo Cambiaghi drove to the byline and cut the ball back for Esposito to apply a deft finish. The goal ignited the home crowd, and Sebastiano Esposito nearly added a second moments later, forcing a sharp save from Mike Maignan.
France finished the half strongly, with Bradley Barcola curling a shot against the far post from the edge of the area.
The end-to-end action continued after the break. Donnarumma atoned for his earlier error by tipping Rayan Cherki’s powerful strike onto the post, before Italy raced up the other end to force Maignan into a point-blank stop from Cambiaghi.
The Azzurri were awarded a penalty on the hour mark when Malo Gusto tripped Cambiaghi, but Sebastiano Esposito blazed the spot-kick wide. Italy refused to dwell on the miss, retaking the lead just three minutes later. Substitute Federico Dimarco delivered a cross that Frattesi drilled home moments after entering the pitch.
Another substitute, Antonio Vergara, won a second penalty when fouled by Dayot Upamecano. This time, Francesco Pio Esposito stepped up to send a composed finish into the bottom corner.
The victory extends Roberto Mancini’s unbeaten start to his second spell in charge to four matches and marks Italy’s first home win over France since 1962. Italy travel to Belgium and France host Turkiye in the final round of group fixtures on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Harry Kane marked his record 126th cap for England with the winning penalty in a 2-1 comeback victory over Croatia at Wembley, securing the Three Lions’ place in the Nations League quarter-finals. The Bayern Munich striker coolly slotted home his 92nd international goal in the 64th minute, sending Dominik Livakovic the wrong way after England had conceded a sloppy equalizer minutes earlier. Kane was presented with a commemorative token by former record-holder Peter Shilton prior to kick-off, celebrating his surpassing of Bobby Moore’s long-standing appearance benchmark of 108 caps.