Italy vs France

One of the most exciting fixtures in the UEFA Nations League calendar pits Italy and France against each other in a top-table Group A2 six-pointer at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

That math is simple for Italy. After a narrow 1-0 win against Belgium during midweek maintained their near-flawless run in Group A2 (W4, D1), they need to avoid conceding three times and lose by a multi-goal margin against France to secure a third consecutive top-table finish in the Nations League group stages. Luciano Spalletti’s side fought back from an early deficit to beat France 3-1 on matchday one and put themselves in this position. However, they’ve failed to outscore the French across their last five meetings on home soil (D2, L3), suggesting there’s no room for complacency just yet. Still, ‘Gli Azzurri’ can take confidence from never losing a Nations League fixture on home turf (W4, D6), with both such games in the ongoing cycle seeing them score 2+ goals (W1, D1).

In the meantime, France’s inexplicable 0-0 home draw against Israel last time out reminded under-fire manager Didier Deschamps how grave his mistake to omit superstar forward Kylian Mbappe really was. Despite locking down quarter-final qualification with a game to spare, Les Bleus’ performance against the League A debutants didn’t sit well with the French media, with the accusations being made over Deschamps’ clueless offensive tactics. The upcoming trip to Italy doesn’t bode well, especially considering the visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five away Nations League outings. On top of that, just one of France’s historical victories on foreign soil in this competition yielded a margin significant enough to propel them past Italy in the standings.