Italy beat France 3-1 in Milan: Zidane's first defeat as Les Bleus coach

France had the chances, but Italy had the goals. On Thursday 12 November in Milan, Les Bleus lost 3-1 in the Nations League, the first defeat of Zinédine Zidane's time as head coach.

Without Kylian Mbappé, the team was not clinical enough in front of goal. And it paid for it.

What happened?

France started brilliantly. Michael Olise scored in the 10th minute after pressing Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into a mistake.

It could have been more. Bradley Barcola (35th) and Rayan Cherki (52nd) both hit the post, and Donnarumma made a few saves.

Then Italy hit back from their very first shot. Nicolo Cambiaghi beat Malo Gusto and set up Pio Esposito to equalise (26th).

Why did it slip away?

The French defence looked shaky, and Gusto had a nightmare night at San Siro. He gave away a penalty that Italy missed (60th), but three minutes later Davide Frattesi put the hosts 2-1 ahead from his side of the pitch (63rd).

After a foul by Dayot Upamecano, Esposito scored a second penalty (75th) to seal it. Despite plenty of substitutions by Zidane, France posed little threat in the last half hour.

One stat says it all: this was the ninth time Italy beat France after conceding first, at least five more than any other nation.

What's next?

Zidane was appointed in July to succeed Didier Deschamps, and this is his first setback. France still lead their qualification race, but they must now wait for the final group-stage game.

They face Turkey, who have lost all five of their matches, on Sunday at 20:45 in Bordeaux. A win would secure a quarter-final place. They could also still retake first place in Group A if Italy slip up.