Italy beats France 3-1 at San Siro after trailing, Pio Esposito scores twice

Italy comes back from a goal down

On Thursday, 12 November, Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro in Milan, in matchday five of the Nations League Division A, Group 1. France led from the 10th minute, when Michael Olise took advantage of an error by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, ran into the penalty area and finished. Italy equalised in the 26th minute, when Pio Esposito pushed a pass from Nicolò Cambiaghi into the net after Cambiaghi had worked the ball down the left. Bradley Barcola then struck the crossbar for France in the 35th minute, and the sides went into the break level at 1-1. Rayan Cherki also hit the woodwork early in the second half, and Italy then grew into the match.

Penalties, Frattesi and a second Pio Esposito goal

Italy's first penalty after the break came in the 58th minute, when Istvan Kovacs, the Romanian referee, pointed to the spot after Malo Gusto fouled Cambiaghi inside the box. Sebastiano Esposito, Pio's older brother, sent the kick wide of the goal. Roberto Mancini had already brought on Antonio Vergara and Federico Dimarco in the 62nd minute, and Dimarco's cross set up Davide Frattesi for the 63rd-minute goal that made it 2-1. Vergara was then fouled in the box, and Pio Esposito converted the second penalty in the 75th minute to seal the 3-1 scoreline. The win was Italy's first home victory over France since 5 May 1962, when José Altafini scored both goals in a 2-1 win. Pio Esposito, 21, has nine goals in 14 caps for Italy and sits second on the national team's all-time list of goalscorers at that age, behind Giuseppe Meazza.

Group 1 table after matchday five

Italy and France each have 10 points, with Italy on a goal difference of +5 and France on +3. Belgium is third on 9 points, while Turkey remains without a point after a 1-2 defeat to Belgium on the same day. Italy sits top on the strength of its head-to-head result against France. Italy plays Belgium in Brussels on Sunday, 15 November, and a draw is enough for a place in the Nations League quarter-finals. Alessandro Bastoni will miss that match after a yellow card against France.

Italy10

France10

Belgium9

Turkey0

Italy

10 points

France

10 points

Belgium

9 points

Turkey

0 points

Data from the article text

France under Zidane without Mbappe

Zinedine Zidane has taken over from Didier Deschamps, whose France side finished fourth at the World Cup. France played without its captain Kylian Mbappe and without Aurelien Tchouameni, both absent from the squad for this fixture. In its first four Nations League matches under Zidane, France had won three times and drawn once. Zidane made four substitutions after the goal that made it 3-1, but the scoreline did not change. Italy's next opponent is Belgium, and three teams are still within one point of each other at the top of the group.