Key events
RoundupShare
That’s a great result for Northern Ireland, who beat Ukraine 3-0 in Slovakia. Ciaron Brown – the only player in the starting XI over the age of 24 – scored either side of Isaac Price’s goal. We’ll have more on that in our Nations League round-up.
Isaac Price (left) heads home Northern Ireland’s second goal. Photograph: Dénes Erdős/APShare
Updated at 16.57 EDT
Today’s Nations League results
Group A1
Belgium 3-0 Turkey
France 1-1 Italy
Group B2
Group B4
Group C2
Cyprus 2-0 Armenia
Latvia 1-2 Montenegro
Group C3
ShareFull time: France 1-1 Italy
France drop points for the first time under Zinedine Zidane. That was a fine match, a fascinating clash of styles that could have gone either way: Gigi Donnarumma made some stunning saves, but Italy were a big threat in transition and might have won the game after the late dismissal of Dayot Upamecano.
Both goals came in the second half. Michael Olise, who at times was magical, lashed France in front from a short free-kick. But Italy never lost heart and equalised when Alessandro Bastoni punished an error from Lucas Da Cunha.
90+3 min At the other end, Calafiori’s fierce cross flashes just behind Kean in front of goal. This is great fun.
90+2 min: France penalty appeal! Olise goes flying in the Italy area after a desperate lunging tackle from Bastoni. The referee gives nothing and VAR are happy that Bastoni got enough on the ball.
90+2 min Donnarumma makes one last save for the road, leaping to his right to paw away Camavinga’s curler from 25 yards.
Bastoni has been booked for something or other.
90 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min: Italy substitution Gianluca Scamacca on, Nicolo Fagioli off.
89 min Fagioli, 40 yards from goal, temporarily mistakes himself for Arie Haan. Goalkick to France.
88 min: Chance for Italy! Vergara’s deflected cross from the left is poked high and wide by the stretching Barella, 10 yards out. A tough chance to take first time.
87 min: France substitution The resulting free-kick almost breaks for Bastoni, whose shot on the turn deflects behind. Italy fancy this now.
Before the corner is taken, France bring on Maxence Lacroix for for Lucas Da Cunha.
Share85 min: Upamecano sent off
France are down to ten men. Upamecano is given a second yellow card for pulling back Kean, who won a wrestling match on the left wing and would have been away. France argue that Kean and Upamecano were fouling each other, but it hasn’t been overturned and Upamecano is doing one.
France’s Dayot Upamecano walks off the pitch after being shown a red card. Photograph: Catherine Steenkeste/ReutersShare
Updated at 16.48 EDT
84 min A sizzling long-range hit from Camavinga is pushed away dramatically by the flying Donnarumma. A bit of a showy save, not as tough as some of his others tonight, but he still did well.
83 min Dembele shoots over from distance. His decision making has been unusually poor tonight.
82 min Vergara is booked for a foul on Truffert.
Share81 min: Kean hits the bar!
Vergara teases an inswinging cross from the right towards the far post. Kean gets up well and loops a header that hits the top of the crossbar with Maignan backpedalling desperately. I think Maignan got a slight touch as well, though I doubt Kean’s header would have dropped in.
80 min: Double substitution for Italy Daniel Maldini and Issa Doumbia come on for Davide Frattesi and Sebastiano Esposito.
79 min Da Cunha is penalised for what looks a decent tackle on Frattesi. For the first time tonight, France are getting frustrated.
76 min: Double substitution for France A snapshot from Cherki is kneed wide by an Italian defender, but the unsighted referee gives a goalkick.
That’s Cherki’s last contribution: France bring on Eduardo Camavinga and Bradley Barcola, with Desire Doue the other player to go off.
Updated at 16.23 EDT
75 min In other news, Romelu Lukaku has made it Belgium 3-0 Turkey. I think that’s his 95th goal in international football.
73 min That penalty appeal leads to a bit of posturing and yellow cards for Upamecano and Kean. Replays suggest Upamecano motioned to headbutt Frattesi, which was a bit daft.
73 min France appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Doue goes down in the area after a challenge from Barella. Nothing in it.
Share70 min: Great save by Donnarumma!
Rabiot almost restores France’s lead with a fierce left-foot drive across goal. Donnarumma plunges to his right and fingertips the ball round the post. That’s an outstanding save, similar to one he made against Arsenal (possibly from Leandro Trossard) in the Champions League semi-final two years ago.
Updated at 16.18 EDT
Rabiot clipped a risky pass into Da Cunha, who was facing his own goal, 25 yards out, and couldn’t hear Bastoni charging up behind him. A heavy touch allowed Bastoni to nick the ball, gallop into the area and open his body to beat Maignan with a relaxed left-foot shot. A Horlicks from France, sure, but an outstanding piece of play from Bastoni.
Updated at 16.15 EDT
GOAL! France 1-1 Italy (Bastoni 68)
Alessandro Bastoni has stunned the Stade de France!
Alessandro Bastoni gestures towards the TV camera as he celebrates after scoring Italy’s equaliser. Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPAShare
Updated at 16.26 EDT
67 min Kevin De Bruyne’s second goal has put Belgium 2-0 up against Turkey in the other game. Belgium play in France on Monday, with Italy hosting Turkey.
Kevin De Bruyne slams home his, and Belgium’s, second goal of the night. Photograph: Yves Herman/ReutersDe Bruyne celebrates his goal. Photograph: Yves Herman/ReutersShare
Updated at 16.29 EDT
64 min The lively Sebastiano Esposito controls a cross beyond the far post, turns Kalulu and drives a low cross-shot that is slightly behind Kean in the middle. The ball flies wide, either off Kean or a defender; I think there might have been an offside anyway.
Updated at 16.11 EDT
63 min: Italy substitutions Nicolo Barella and Antonio Vergara on, Sandro Tonali and Pio Esposito off.
62 min “Zinedine Zidane’s best Real Madrid side always sought to make the game more chaotic, disrupting their opponents patterns,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Destroying order so that they could create. I can’t think of many other top managers who’ve sought less control over a match. You can see some hints of that in this France, but while they have oodles of creativity, they lack destruction.”
61 min Cherki doesn’t connect properly with a slashing left-foot shot after a delightful turn on the edge of the area. He’s also been excellent tonight.
60 min Scalvini does very well to stop Olise running onto Truffert’s cutback. Right now Italy are holding on to their 1-0 deficit.
58 min I think Olise has scored nine and made 11 in his last 23 appearances for France. He’s a fantasy footballer and a Fantasy Footballer rolled into one.
ShareGOAL! France 1-0 Italy (Olise 55)
The free-kick is dragged forward a couple of yards to Olise, who whips a majestic shot over the wall and into the net. It hit the underside of the bar, bounced onto the goalline and then up into the roof of the net. Donnarumma had no chance. Another memorable goal from one of the world’s most stylish and joyful footballers.
Michael Olise of France (second right) celebrates after opening the scoring against Italy. Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPAOlise (centre) celebrates with Rayan Cherki (right) and Pierre Kalulu. Photograph: Daniel Weir/Sports Press Photo/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 16.20 EDT
55 min Fagioli is booked for a cynical foul on Cherki just outside the area. It’s been all France at the start of the second half.
53 min On the subject of Zizou the manager, Ruth Purdue has sent in a link to his half-time team-talk during the 2017 Champions League final against Juventus.
50 min A trademark curler from Olise is clawed away to his right by the diving Donnarumma. That’s another very good save.
Share48 min: Brilliant double save from Donnarumma
Doue shuffles across the edge of the area and whips a shot through the crowd that is pushed away by the diving Donnarumma. The ball runs loose in front of goal, with Dembele looking certain to score, but Donnarumma jumps to his feet and then dives full length to his left to make an outstanding follow-up save.
Italy’s keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denies France’s Ousmane Dembele (right). Photograph: Teresa Suárez/APShare
Updated at 16.07 EDT
47 min “Why is it Rob,” begins Peadar de Burca, “that I imagine Zizou’s teamtalk to be him sitting in the centre of the dressing room, barefooted, strumming a guitar to the tune of Van Morrison’s ‘Madame George’, before gazing at a spot on the wall and whispering, ‘Allez…’?”
You want me to answer that?
46 min Peep peep! Italy begin the second half; no changes on either side, yet.
Half-time reading
ShareHalf time: France 0-0 Italy
A fun first half in Saint-Denis. France played some bewildering football at times, but most of their goal attempts were from distance and Italy had the two clearest chances.
44 min Frattesi shoots well wide from distance after a decent Italy move. Roberto Mancini is getting a tune out of them.
41 min: Disallowed goal for Italy! The resulting corner leads to a disallowed goal from Kean, who was well offside when he swept a good finish on the turn past Maignan.
Updated at 15.31 EDT
41 min: Just wide from Frattesi!
Michael Kayode’s long throw causes havoc in the France defence. The ball breaks to Frattesi, whose snapshot from 10 yards takes a subtle deflection and flies just wide. Not sure who the France defence was, or how much they knew about it, but that touch probably saved a goal.
Updated at 15.30 EDT