France emerged victorious from their clash against Italy at San Siro on Sunday, taking revenge on the Azzurri for the identical scoreline at the Parc des Princes in Paris back in September.
Adrien Rabiot broke the deadlock less than two minutes in, and Lucas Digne’s 33rd-minute free-kick bounced off the back of Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and into the net. Two minutes later, Andrea Cambiaso pulled one back for the hosts, but Rabiot struck again in the 65th, setting the final score at 1-3.
The teams
Luciano Spalletti in the Italy dugout made two changes from the team that beat Belgium three days before – Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario got the nod between the posts ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Manuel Locatelli replaced Nicolo Rovella in the middle of the park.
The back three consisted of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Buongiorno and Alessandro Bastoni. Apart from Locatelli, Davide Frattessi and Sandro Tonali played in midfield, flanked by Federico Dimarco and Cambiaso as the wing-backs. Nicolo Barella played further up, supporting striker Mateo Retegui.
As for France, coach Didier Deschamps had Mike Maignan in goal, the Premier League duo of William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate as the centre-back pairing, Lucas Digne on the left and Jules Kounde on the right defensive flank. Manu Kone anchored the midfield, joined by Adrien Rabiot and Matteo Guendouzi. Up front, in the absence of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe, Christopher Nkunku supported strikers Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram.
Key moments
France quickly took the lead through Rabiot, perfectly targeted by Digne from a corner, and the two players who combined for the opening goal announced themselves as the most important ingredients in this match.
Italy responded briefly through a dangerous effort from Barella which eventually caused no problems for Maignan in the eight minute.
However, France established themselves as the dominant team in the early stages. And with just over half an hour gone, Digne whipped a great free-kick from around 25 yards, and as it bounced off the bar, it hit the unhappy Vicario and rebounded into the back of the net, doubling the visitors’ lead.
But Deschamps’ men were still reeling from being two goals up when Dimarco won the ball from Kounde in France’s half, combined with Tonali on the left and found Cambiaso unmarked inside the box. Italy were suddenly back in the contest.
After the break, however, France raised their game and pushed the home side back again. They threatened first through a long-range effort by Kone, saved with some difficulty by Vicario. But there was nothing the Spurs ‘keeper could do in the 65th minute, when Digne delivered another pin-point cross and Rabiot sent a looping header into the top corner to restore France to a two-goal lead.
With the likes of Konate, Saliba, Kounde, Kolo Muani and Thuram to watch inside the box during set-pieces, Spalletti’s defenders obviously didn’t pay enough attention to Rabiot, and the early opener they conceded didn’t put them on required level of alert in such situations.
Spalletti reacted by refreshing and adding to his attacking line. Moise Kean came on instead of Retegui, and Giacomo Raspadori replaced Frattesi. The Italy boss also put a fresh pair of legs at the midfield base as Locatelli made way for Rovella. Later on, he also replaced his wing-backs, by first sending Daniel Maldini on for Cambiaso and then Destiny Udogie for Dimarco, but to no avail.
On the other hand, Deschamps made two late changes, giving the final stages of the game to Benjamin Pavard instead of Kounde and Bradley Barcola instead of Thuram, and his team was able to bring the game to a desired end. Italy tried to push for a second goal, and though it would not have helped them avoid defeat, it would’ve still meant a different final look regarding the group standings.
The aftermath
But as it happened, it was exactly the victory France needed to overtake Italy at the top of League A Group 2 on goal-difference. Both teams finished the stage on 13 points, leaving Belgium and Israel far behind, on just four apiece.
Therefore, both France and Italy are through to the quarterfinals, set to take place in March. Meanwhile, Belgium, due to their superior goal-difference, will have a chance to save their League A status through relegation play-offs, and Israel are relegated automatically.
Italy and France have been fierce rivals for a while now, and their clashes usually make great waves in world football – the Euro 2000 and 2006 World Cup finals not least.
This round went to France.
