Italy recovered from conceding inside 13 seconds to fight back and beat France 3-1 in their UEFA Nations League clash in Paris on Friday, with Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori all on target.
Bradley Barcola had opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes with the fastest ever goal by a France player, but the home side failed to build on that stunning start and Italy ran out deserved winners.
The result is a boost for Luciano Spalletti’s team after their poor showing at Euro 2024, when their defence of the title was ended limply by Switzerland in the last 16.
“Conceding a goal after 13 seconds could have driven us crazy but we were very good in the way we reacted,” Spalletti said.
“We kept our focus and did some great things beyond the goals. We were giants tonight.”
The winning start in this edition of the Nations League leaves Italy level at the top of Group A2 with Belgium, who beat Israel 3-1 in Friday’s other game.
Italy face Israel next on Monday, with that match taking place in Budapest due to the security situation in the Middle East.
France, for whom captain Kylian Mbappe struggled to make an impact in Paris, will hope to bounce back from a flat performance when they take on Belgium next in Lyon.
Mbappe and Didier Deschamps’ side also had a disappointing Euros despite reaching the semi-finals and only losing to eventual champions Spain.
“It hurts for all of us,” admitted Deschamps. “Congratulations to Italy. We were lacking, but we are not going to dwell too much on this.”
Here, Deschamps handed a debut on the right wing to Michael Olise, the London-born Bayern Munich winger who starred in the France side that won the Olympic silver medal last month.
There was also a second full international start for Barcola, and the 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player wasted no time making an impact.
