France to face Italy in Nations League clash in Saint-Denis on Friday

A 42nd meeting

France and Italy will face off on Friday, October 2 at 20:45 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis in a Nations League match — their 42nd encounter overall. The all-time record is fairly balanced: 12 wins for France, 10 draws and 19 wins for Italy. In terms of matches played, Italy is France's second most frequent opponent after Belgium, against whom France has played 79 times.

Recent form on both sides

In their last three home meetings with Italy, France have won two and lost one — the defeat came on September 6, 2024 at Parc des Princes (1-3). The same split — two wins, five losses and seven draws — had occurred over the first 14 matches between the two sides.

Italy, meanwhile, have won six of their last seven away matches across all competitions (with one draw), scoring 17 goals in total. That matches the number of wins from their previous 14 away matches (four draws, four losses).

France have won 10 of their last 12 home matches in official competitions (one draw, one loss) — and that single loss came against Italy in September 2024 (1-3). At the Stade de France specifically, France have not conceded a goal in their last five matches there, matching their record over the previous 17.

Records within reach for several players

France have not played at the Stade de France in 558 days — the longest gap between two matches at the venue. Their last appearance there was in the second leg of a Nations League quarter-final against Croatia (2-0, won 5-4 on penalties) on March 23, 2025.

France head coach Zinedine Zidane, who faced Italy as a player in 1998, 2000 and 2006, has won his first two matches in charge of the national team. A victory on Friday would make him the third French coach to win three matches in a row, after Henri Michel (in 1984) and Aimé Jacquet (in 1994), and only the second to post three clean sheets in his first three matches, after Michel.

Michael Olise, who scored the winning goal against Belgium in the 88th minute (1-0) on Monday, has been decisive in his last three matches for France (one goal, three assists) and could extend that to four consecutive matches for the first time in his career. The last player other than Kylian Mbappé to be decisive in four consecutive France matches was Randal Kolo Muani, in 2024.

Friday could also see Mike Maignan and Jules Koundé earn their 50th starts for France. If that happens, the AC Milan and Barcelona players would become the fourth and fifth players this decade to reach that milestone, after Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé and Adrien Rabiot.