Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCurious as to how he comes across in front of a microphone, I had a look and a listen to Zinedine Zidane\u2019s press conference ahead of the game (now up in various places, eg here<\/a>),\u201d begins Charles Antaki. \u201cWhat a presence the man has, even though he seems to barely speak above a shy whisper: he hardly moves his head or body, and when he looks at the questioner it\u2019s in part menacing and indulgent – but he dominates. Now and then he\u2019ll give a little chuckle. The commander of a particularly tough Foreign Legion outpost deciding on the fate of a raw but promising recruit. Maybe it\u2019s this that brings out the best in the Olises and Demb\u00e9l\u00e9s of the squad; in any case, results suggest that it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n Beautifully put. Imagine how tall you would feel after receiving a \u201cwell done\u201d from Zidane.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIs Marco Materazzi in the house?\u201d asks Peter Oh. \u201cGiven the primacy of gestures in today\u2019s world, a symbolic handshake to bury the headbutt, I mean hatchet would be appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n Have you checked hell\u2019s temperature recently?<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Even in his playing days, Zinedine Zidane<\/a> seemed unknowable. As a manager, the sense of distance has only grown. He won three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid without ever giving a sense of what his idea of football looked like.<\/p>\n Zidane is one of five coaches to have won the Champions League on three or more occasions, ranking alongside Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique and behind only Carlo Ancelotti. He is the only manager to win three successive Champions Leagues and yet few would consider him one of the game\u2019s elite coaches. In that spell he won one La Liga title.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Team news<\/p>\n Michael Olise, who came off the bench to score the winner against Belgium on Monday, starts in attack for France<\/a>. That\u2019s one of six changes made by Zinedine Zidane. Ousmane Dembele, Rayan Cherki, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot all come into the side, Dembele as captain in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n Roberto Mancini makes two changes to the Italy<\/a> side that won 4-1 in Turkey. Riccardo Calafiori and Moise Kean come in for Matteo Ruggeri and the injured Giacomo Raspadori.<\/p>\n France (4-3-3) Maignan; Kalulu, Jacquet, Upamecano, Truffert; Cherki, Da Cunha, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Doue.<\/p>\n Subs: Restes, Butez, Kounde, Camavinga, Kone, Barcola, Diouf, Yoro, Lacroix, Akliouche, Lepaul.<\/p>\n Italy (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Kayode, Scalvini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Frattesi, Tonali, Fagioli; Kean, P Esposito, S Esposito.<\/p>\n Subs: Carnesecchi, Vicario, Ruggeri, Ricci, Scamacca, Zoma, Doumbia, Maldini, Barella, Vergara, Di Lorenzo, Mancini.<\/p>\n Referee Jesus Gil Manzano (Spain).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.07 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n G\u2019day and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the Nations League<\/a> match between France and Italy at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.<\/p>\n France\u2019s new coach Zinedine Zidane has made a fine start: two away games. two 1-0 wins against Belgium and Turkey. This is his first home game as France manager, and his first meeting with Italy since 9 July 2006. Don\u2019t play silly buggers; you know exactly what happened that night<\/a>.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s Nations League campaign got off to a bad start with a 2-0 defeat at home to Belgium, but they romped to a 4-1 win in Turkey on Tuesday. Roberto Mancini, who is beginning his second spell in charge, has also been in the news for other reasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019re only a third of the way through Nations League Group A1, but right now it feels like a shootout between Belgium and Italy for the second quarter-final place. Points taken off France<\/a>, if there are any, could make all the difference.<\/p>\n Kick off 7.45pm BST.<\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Jonathan_Wilson,_L.png\")
Jonathan Wilson<\/p>\n