Two teams who endured somewhat uninspiring matches in their international break openers go head-to-head on Sunday evening. In what could be a pivotal match in deciding the makeup of their Nations League group, find our Italy vs France preview below.
Italy vs France Preview
Both Italy and France have already secured safe passage to the Nations League quarter-finals, with the former topping the group at the time of writing and currently heading to the last eight as the top seed.
France head to the San Siro on Sunday off the back of a goalless draw against bottom-of-the-group Isreal, which left a State de France crowd disgruntled at a spate of wasted opportunities.
That draw means Les Bleus must win away in Italy on Sunday, and by at least two goals if they are to top Group Two in League A.
Meanwhile, Luciano Spalletti’s side remain unbeaten in the competition this season, with a hard fought victory over Belgium on Thursday handing them their fourth win in five matches.
Sandro Tonali’s 11th minute goal – his first in over 400 days – proved to be the winner as pressure mounts on Belgium’s Domenico Tedesco after four winless games.
Astonishingly, Italy and France met for their first competitive meeting for some 16 years at the beginning on September, and will now close out Group Two in Milan.
Given the coloured history between these two European neighbours – including a resounding 3-1 in the reverse of this fixture for Gli Azzurri – this could be the highlight of the final matchday.
Italy Team News
With the Italians already qualified and seemingly heading towards topping the group, it is likely Luciano Spalletti will rotate.
Moise Kean is rediscovering his form for Fiorentina in Serie A, and may be handed minutes after netting a hat-trick for La Viola las time out. Nicolo Rovella started in the heart of midfield against Belgium, so it is likely Manuel Locatelli will be drafted in.
Usual regulars such as Riccardo Calafiori, Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini all remain sidelined through injury.
France Team News
Didier Deschamps may also opt for personnel changes, although he will want to leave a lasting impression in this final Nations League group match – particularly after failing to score at home to Israel.
France are still without Kylian Mbappe who withdrew for reasons that remain unclear, while Ousmane Demebele and Aurelien Tchouameni also miss out.
Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola lined up on either wing against Israel, but Deschamps may rotate to bring in Kingsley Coman who was called up in place of the injured Dembele.
Italy vs France Predicted Lineups
Italy Predicted Lineup
Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Bastoni; Cambiaso, Frattesi, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco; Barella; Kean
France Predicted Lineup
Maignan; Kounde, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez; Kante, Rabiot; Olise, Zaire-Emery, Barcola; Thuram
Italy vs France Prediction
Italy head into this final group match in fine form, and are unbeaten since their Euro 2024 campaign.
This includes an impressive 3-1 win in Paris back in September over Sunday’s opponents, and even with expected rotations from Spalletti, they welcome a France side who lacked any real cohesion in midweek.
Even in the face of adversity – namely holding on for a 2-2 draw for over half a match against Belgium – Italy’s home form is iron-clad.
Although this should be a relatively narrow affair between two nations who have already qualified, we expect Italy to use their home advantage and inflict another winless game on France.
Prediction: Italy 1 – 0 France
