Three talking points after Italy 1-3 France: Did Italy underestimate France? | OneFootball

Italy were defeated by three goals to one on home soil by a France side without some of their biggest stars at San Siro on Sunday evening, which also cost Luciano Spalletti’s side top spot in their Nations League group, to the benefit of the visitors.

Here are three talking points after a disappointing evening for the Azzurri.

Where did the problems come from against France?

Defensively, largely from set pieces. France scored from a corner after two minutes, from a direct free-kick after 33 and then a header from a free-kick delivery after 67. All of the last six goals scored against Italy have all come from set pieces, four with Guglielmo Vicario in the net and two with Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Adrien Rabiot of France scores his team’s third goal during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A2 match between Italy and France at San Siro on November 17, 2024. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

There were also noticeable issues at the other end of the pitch, as Mateo Retegui has struggled to get involved in both of the last two Nations League group stage matches of the campaign. He had just 14 touches of the ball and registered no shots, and though Italy had four midfielders on the pitch, that crucial connection with the striker never really came.

Did Italy underestimate France?

Overall, Italy looked a touch sluggish compared to some of their earlier Nations League matches, perhaps when they were a bit more motivated after a tough summer in Germany. Perhaps they were slightly too relaxed knowing a one-goal defeat would have been enough to see them through as group winners.

Perhaps they slightly underestimated a France side that had just been held 0-0 at home by Israel and a team that was without Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, N’golo Kante and Theo Hernandez.

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 17: Adrien Rabiot of France celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A2 match between Italy and France at San Siro on November 17, 2024. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Either way, Italy generally looked slower to the ball, less creative in midfield, less likely to score and more likely to concede for the most part, and that shouldn’t have been the case after such a strong Nations League campaign before then.

A small hiccup shouldn’t ruin an otherwise positive campaign

No, it wasn’t the greatest Italy display by any stretch of the imagination against France, but on reflection, the Nations League campaign as a whole has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for the Azzurri. They went five games unbeaten, including away wins against France, Belgium and Israel, and in most of those matches looked like an entirely different team to the one that crashed out of the EUROs at the round of 16 in the summer.

For whatever reason, it didn’t click on Sunday night, but looking at the positives, Spalletti’s settled system has helped the vast majority of Italy’s key players, there is a strong spine at centre back and in midfield and still plenty of time to fix the remaining issues before the next major tournament in 18 months time.