Paris (France) (AFP) - The Italian national team, led by its coach Roberto Mancini, in his second term at the helm of its technical management, put a brake on Zinedine Zidane’s ideal start with his national team, France, when he forced it to a 1-1 draw on Friday at the “Stade de France” in Paris in the third round of Group A competitions within the first level of the European Nations League competition in football.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 23:00

In the same group, Belgium regained its balance with a big, 3-0 victory over its host, Türkiye, which suffered its third loss in a row.

In the first match, France found itself in a difficult situation against Italy, as it controlled the proceedings without succeeding in creating a real threat, before it resorted to its right winger, Bayern Munich's German star, Michael Oliseh, to untie the knot with a genius touch following a direct free kick (55).

In his third match at the helm of their technical management, the Blues, led by Zidane, did not succeed, with the exception of one opportunity, in reaching a suitable shooting position that worried former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It is Oliseh's second goal in three matches in the competition this season, after the winning goal against Belgium in the second round.

But Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni equalized with a left-footed shot from outside the area (68).

Oliseh could have become the hero of the match in stoppage time when he penetrated into the area, before Bastoni stopped him at the last minute without committing a mistake, despite the protests of the Stade de France fans who demanded a penalty kick (90 + 3).

France completed the match with ten players after Bavarian club defender Dayo Upamecano was sent off in the 85th minute for receiving a second warning.

Zidane began his career as head of the technical management of his country's national team in the best possible way, with two wins outside the rules over Turkey and Belgium by one score, 1-0, but he faltered in his first match on home soil, and despite that, he remained in the lead with seven points.

For its part, Italy confirmed its awakening with a costly draw that followed its loss at home to Belgium 0-2 and a major victory over its host Türkiye 4-1.

Mancini strengthened Italy's strong record away from home in the group stage of the European Nations League with six matches without defeat, including five consecutive victories.

In the second, Belgium regained its balance and inflicted the third loss in a row on its host Türkiye, with a clean triple.

The veteran playmaker, Napoli's Italian midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, imposed himself as the star of the match by scoring a wonderful brace in the 10th and 60th minutes, raising his score to 40 goals in the national team's shirt.

The only negative point for him was that he received a yellow card that would prevent him from facing France on Monday in the fourth round.

His former colleague in the southern club, Fenerbahce's current striker, Turkish substitute Romelu Lukaku, concluded the festival in the 76th minute.

Belgium opened its campaign in this edition with a 2-0 victory over Italy, before losing to France 0-1 on Monday, with a late goal by Oliseh, in its first defeat under its new Dutch coach, Mark van Bommel.

This was also the first loss for Belgium at home since the previous edition of the Nations League (5 wins and one draw), and the second in the last three matches they played (one win), but the two defeats came against two teams ranked among the top three in the International Federation (FIFA) classification, after losing to Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals.

De Bruyne put the Red Devils in the lead since the tenth minute after he exchanged the ball with Benfica's Portuguese winger Dodi Lukebakio before scoring against Ugurcan Cakir with a shot with his right foot.

“King Kev” continued his brilliance by scoring a wonderful goal after an hour of play, when he sent a curved ball without preparation that landed in the upper corner of Cakir’s goal.

After leading the Turks to qualify for the World Cup last summer for the first time in 24 years, Italian coach Vincenzo Montella now finds himself in a negative spiral.

Türkiye lost twice at home to France (0-1) and Italy (1-4), before losing today to Belgium, suffering three consecutive defeats for the first time since the 2020 European Cup.

This is Turkey's fourth loss in the history of its confrontations with Belgium, compared to three wins and five draws.

© 2026 AFP

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.