France’s Nations League setback exposes flaws Zinedine Zidane must fix

France suffered their first defeat since Zinedine Zidane became manager as Italy recovered from Michael Olise’s opener to win 3-1 at San Siro on Thursday.

The Nations League defeat exposed defensive weaknesses in a France side missing several key players, including Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe and Jules Kounde.

France made the stronger start in Milan and went ahead when Olise capitalised on an error by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. However, they were unable to maintain their advantage and lost their shape after half-time, conceding three goals.

The result has not decisively damaged France’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, but they now need to secure qualification when they face Turkey in Bordeaux on Sunday.

Zidane is not under immediate pressure over his position, yet the defeat at San Siro has prompted widespread questioning in both the French and European media.

French defence comes under scrutiny

French coverage focused heavily on the team’s collapse after the interval, following a first half in which France had appeared composed and well organised.

L’Equipe’s digital edition described the match as Zidane’s “first setback”, while its print version highlighted the dramatic change in performance and labelled the second-half display a “French collapse”.

Particular attention was given to the full-backs, who were criticised for continuing to struggle defensively. The newspaper’s main headline, “Drowned… sank”, referred both to the heavy rain in Milan and to France’s deterioration during the second half.

Le Parisien also questioned France’s lack of defensive discipline and resilience. It pointed to the limited international experience of Zidane’s young squad and described some players as still “far too fragile” for this level.

The newspaper placed a photograph of Zidane on its front page alongside the headline: “First setback in the Zidane era”.

Italy praised as France draw wider reaction

Italian newspapers celebrated the victory, particularly given Italy’s absence from the past three World Cup editions. Their coverage portrayed the result as evidence of a rebuilding process and praised Roberto Mancini as the “ideal man” to lead it.

German media showed less concern about France’s position. Sky Sport highlighted the reassuring comments made by Zidane after the match, while also noting that his team still had “room for improvement”. Bild gave little detailed analysis of the defeat, instead concentrating on the fact that it was Zidane’s first loss as France manager.

In England, Harry Kane’s impressive display and record-breaking night with the Three Lions dominated the headlines. The Italy-France match received limited attention beyond reports of Zidane’s first defeat.

Spanish newspapers led with their national team’s victory over the Czech Republic, although AS also reported France’s loss. Its website devoted greater coverage to the result, describing the team’s dependence on Mbappe as “big trouble without Mbappe”.

The report criticised France’s attacking inefficiency and defensive errors, with Malo Gusto singled out for a “disastrous match” that severely tested Zidane’s patience. AS judged France’s hopes of finishing top of the group to be “seriously threatened” and said victory against Turkey was essential to avoid real “drama” in the next stage.