France Italy 1-1: Zidane’s Perfect Start Ends After Bastoni Equaliser

France Italy 1-1 ended Zinedine Zidane’s perfect start as national-team coach after Alessandro Bastoni cancelled out Michael Olise’s opener in a tense Nations League match at the Stade de France.

France controlled long stretches of the game and created the better chances, but Italy stayed organised and punished a defensive lapse to leave Paris with a point. The draw kept France top of League A Group 1 while giving Italy an important result after an uneven start to the campaign.

The match also added a first setback to Zidane’s new chapter in international management. Wowplus has followed his coaching career since his Real Madrid days, including the moment Zinedine Zidane stepped down after a Champions League-winning spell. His move into the France job brought huge expectations, and the Italy draw showed how quickly those expectations can become tactical questions.

Olise rewarded France’s pressure

France began with more of the ball and pushed Italy deep through quick combinations around the penalty area. Michael Olise, increasingly important to the national team, gave the hosts their breakthrough in the 55th minute after another spell of pressure.

The goal reflected the way France had tried to play throughout the night. Rather than relying only on individual counterattacks, Zidane’s side moved the ball patiently between midfield and the wide areas before accelerating near the box.

Reuters reported that France dominated possession and created the greater number of chances, but Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and the visiting defence kept the score close enough for a response.

That response arrived when Bastoni equalised after France failed to deal cleanly with an Italian attack. The Inter defender’s finish changed the mood inside the Stade de France and forced France to chase a second goal rather than manage a lead.

Zidane’s first home test became a tactical lesson

Zidane had won his opening two matches in charge, against Turkey and Belgium, so the Italy fixture was his first match without a victory. That does not make the performance a failure, but it exposed areas France will need to sharpen if they want to turn territorial control into consistent results.

France’s attacking talent remains obvious. Kylian Mbappé gives the team elite pace and finishing, while Olise adds creativity between the lines. Wowplus recently profiled Kylian Mbappé’s rise and achievements, and the current France side is increasingly being built around a generation that expects to dominate rather than simply react.

The challenge is balance. When France commit numbers forward, the spaces left behind can become important against teams comfortable defending for long periods and breaking at the right moment. Italy did not need many sustained attacks to create danger.

Zidane also had to deal with the late dismissal of Dayot Upamecano. The red card reduced France to 10 men and made the final minutes more complicated, especially as the hosts were still pushing for a winner.

Italy showed the value of staying in the match

Italy’s performance was not built on possession, but it was disciplined. They accepted periods without the ball, protected the central areas and trusted that France would eventually offer a transition or set-piece opportunity.

Bastoni’s equaliser rewarded that patience. Italy have sometimes struggled to turn organised defending into enough attacking threat, yet in Paris they showed that remaining within one goal of a stronger opponent can change the match quickly.

The Nations League format also rewards that kind of resilience because every point can matter in a tight group. Wowplus previously covered the competition’s structure in its report on the UEFA Nations League draw and international matchups, and the current edition again shows how little margin there can be between the leading teams.

Italy left with four points in the group, behind France and Belgium, but the result in Paris gives them a platform for the next fixtures. They will need more attacking consistency if they are to challenge for top spot, yet taking a point away from France is the kind of result that can keep a campaign alive.

France remain top despite the dropped points

The draw leaves France on seven points, one ahead of Belgium, with Italy on four. That means Zidane’s team remain in control of the group, even if their perfect record has ended.

The bigger issue for France is how they respond. A draw against Italy is not a crisis, but elite teams are judged by whether they can correct problems quickly. Zidane now has evidence that possession alone will not be enough when opponents defend deep and wait for mistakes.

Olise’s growing influence is one positive. His goal showed that France have another player capable of deciding matches rather than depending entirely on Mbappé. That variety should help Zidane as he experiments with combinations around the captain.

Upamecano’s dismissal, however, will create another selection question. France must manage the next match without one of their senior defenders while also trying to restore the defensive control they lost during Italy’s equalising phase.

The 1-1 scoreline therefore matters less as the end of a winning run than as the first real test of Zidane’s ability to adjust. His opening victories created momentum; the Italy draw gives him a problem to solve.

For a coach who built his reputation on managing high-pressure knockout football at Real Madrid, that challenge will be familiar. The difference is that international football gives him fewer training sessions and fewer chances to correct mistakes before the next result becomes part of the national debate.