Italy 3-1 France: Azzurri Top Their Group as Pio Esposito Scores Twice
Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro on the fifth Nations League matchday: 1-0 down through Olise on 10 minutes, they level through Pio Esposito on 26, then Frattesi on 62 and Pio Esposito's penalty on 75. With top spot in Group A1, coach Mancini now looks to Sunday in Belgium.
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Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro on the fifth Nations League matchday, coming from behind after Olise's opener on 10 minutes. According to ANSA's match data, Pio Esposito levels on 26 and then converts the penalty that makes it 3-1 on 30 minutes of the second half, after Frattesi's goal on 18 of the second half; on 15 of the second half Sebastiano Esposito had missed another penalty. With this win Italy move top of Group A1: ANSA writes that one match remains, which the Azzurri will play in Brussels against Belgium on Sunday.
Italy beat France 3-1 (1-1) on the fifth Nations League matchday. That is the match data in ANSA's 22:40 dispatch: first-half goals from Olise on 10 and Pio Esposito on 26, second-half goals from Frattesi on 18 and Pio Esposito on a penalty on 30, while Sebastiano Esposito missed another penalty on 15 of the second half. According to Il Fatto Quotidiano's account, Italy's equaliser comes from Pio Esposito's right-footed finish after Cambiaghi's pass, and the lead from Frattesi's volley set up by Dimarco.
The comeback
Il Fatto Quotidiano writes that France had taken the lead through Olise and controlled the first half, but after the break Italy changed pace and turned the result around in little more than half an hour: first the equaliser, then the goal that put them ahead on 62, then the penalty for 3-1 on 75 after a foul in the box. For the same outlet, the last half hour showed a national team that knows how to suffer and can hold the game when France tried to get back into it.
The table and Sunday's test
ANSA writes that with this victory Italy top Nations League Group A1 with one match remaining: the one the Azzurri will play in Brussels on Sunday against Belgium, which won 2-1 in Izmir earlier the same evening. Top spot is therefore not yet mathematically secured and must be defended away from home.
The head coach's words
Roberto Mancini, speaking to Rai microphones, said, according to Askanews: 'It was a great performance, I am very happy for the lads and the fans, I hope they enjoyed it'. On the error that gifted France the lead he said the start 'was not easy and these mistakes happen, they shouldn't, but they do', adding that after a shocking start it could have ended in a rout and that they stayed calm instead. On the next match he was blunt: 'This win counts for a great deal; now we must go and win in Belgium to keep first place'.
What the sources do not say
In the three outlets read there are no statements from French players or from Zinedine Zidane after the match: if they come, they will be reported then. For followers of the tournament, the network covered Belgium's win in Turkey earlier that evening and the ATP Finals schedule in Turin.