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Italy came from behind to beat France 3-1 in a UEFA Nations League group-stage match at San Siro in Milan on Thursday night, ending a 64-year wait for a home victory over the French side.
The defeat was also the first suffered by France coach Zinedine Zidane.
Pio Esposito scored twice, while Davide Frattesi netted the other goal for Italy. Michael Olise scored France’s only goal.
France took an early lead in the 10th minute when Olise capitalised on a mistake by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to find the net. Despite missing injured star forward Kylian Mbappe, France started strongly.
Italy levelled the score in the 26th minute through Esposito, who converted a pass from Nicolo Cambiaghi. The two sides went into half-time with the score tied at 1-1.
After the break, Ryan Cherki struck the post for France, while Italy missed an opportunity to take the lead in the 60th minute when Sebastiano Esposito failed to convert a penalty.
However, Frattesi put Italy ahead in the 63rd minute with a finish from Federico Dimarco’s cross.
Italy were awarded another penalty in the 75th minute, and Pio Esposito made no mistake from the spot to seal the 3-1 victory.
The match also marked a rare milestone as brothers Pio and Sebastiano Esposito played together for Italy’s national team. It was the first time since 1910 that two brothers had featured in the same match for the Azzurri.
With the victory, Italy moved to the top of Nations League Group A1 with 10 points from five matches. France also have 10 points but sit second on goal difference.
