Zinedine Zidane takes charge of France on home soil for the first time on Friday, when Les Bleus host Italy at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, in their third UEFA Nations League match. The fixture carries obvious symbolism: it comes 20 years after the 2006 World Cup final, in which Zidane was sent off for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi in what proved to be the last game of his playing career.
Zidane, appointed in late July to succeed long-serving coach Didier Deschamps, has won both of his opening matches away, beating Turkiye and Belgium by the same 1-0 scscoreline. France lead their group on six points. Italy, now managed by Roberto Mancini in his second spell in the job, are second-to-last on three, having lost 2-0 to Belgium before beating Turkiye 4-1. A near sell-out crowd of about 80,000 is expected. Zidane said the occasion would be "really emotional"; his last appearance at the stadium came as a player in a 2006 friendly against Mexico. Mancini called facing Zidane "a pleasure" but said the match was not a duel between the two men.
The stadium is where Zidane became an icon at the 1998 World Cup, when he helped France win their first title. The son of Algerian immigrants, he became a symbol of a modern, multicultural France. As a coach he won three consecutive Champions League titles with Real Madrid, then stepped away more than once. He has said he turned down other offers because the national team was the job he wanted after his playing days.
His approach so far appears disciplined rather than flamboyant. Reports from the squad's base at Clairefontaine say he restricted photographers on arrival day and barred hairdressers. Tactically, his sides have pressed aggressively, and he has experimented with attackers such as Ousmane Dembele and Rayan Cherki. Michael Olise, who came on against Belgium and scored a decisive solo goal, has been involved in both of France's goals in the competition. Desire Doue, 21, was named player of the match in that game.
France will be without captain Kylian Mbappe, who injured a knee after scoring the winner against Turkiye and is sidelined for about two weeks. Warren Zaire-Emery is out injured and Matteo Guendouzi is suspended. Italy have a fully fit squad, with brothers Francesco Pio and Sebastiano Esposito possibly starting together after doing so against Turkiye, a first for Italy in more than a century.
The teams last met in November 2024, when France won 3-1 in Milan. Italy lead the all-time record with 20 wins to France's 12 in 41 meetings. For Zidane there is also a historical echo: his win in Turkiye made him the first French manager since Aime Jacquet in 1994 to win his opening match. Jacquet did so against Italy and won the World Cup four years later.