Zinedine Zidane’s first home game as France boss didn’t quite go to plan.
Having secured respective 1-0 wins at Turkiye and Belgium, Les Bleus were expected to make it three victories on the spin at Italy’s expense on Friday night. The Azzurri had other ideas.
France dominated at the Stade de France. Indeed, they enjoyed 64.6% possession. However, they failed to make their dominance count. That they came up against an inspired Gianluigi Donnarumma hardly helped. The Manchester City man’s showing between the sticks saw Italy leave France with a point in a 1-1 draw.
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Even so, they should have had enough in the tank to dispatch of an Italy side that, for all intents and purposes, continues to struggle. It was a somewhat stroke of luck that they left Paris with a result. Centre-back Alessandro Bastoni found himself upfield before robbing Lucas da Cunha of possession and coolly dispatching past Mike Maignan.
Da Cunha shone despite second-half error
It was a home debut that was going so well for Da Cunha, too. To his credit, the Como man was played into danger by Adrien Rabiot. Had the AC Milan midfielder made a different choice, Da Cunha wouldn’t have been caught on the ball by Bastoni, and France would have likely earned all the spoils.
The mistake aside, it marked another impressive showing by Da Cunha. The 25-year-old was hugely effective in possession to keep play ticking over for Zidane’s side. Only Dayot Upamecano (91) made more passes than the midfielder (85) in the French capital against Italy. A 96.5% pass accuracy was the fourth most of all starters in Paris.
What’s made, Da Cunha was unfortunate not to register an assist having created more chances (4) than any other player. He was a surprise call-up by head coach Zidane last month. In recent days, he’s gone some way to nailing down the midfield anchor spot in the favoured 4-3-3 setup.
Frenchman’s role change under Fabregas
It’s some going for a midfielder who has come on leaps and bounds in the seasons since his 2023 move to Como. When he joined from Nice two years ago, it was a transfer that hardly pulled up any trees in Northern Italy. Then in Serie B, the Italian side parted with €600,000 to sign Da Cunha.
Ultimately, Da Cunha was instrumental as Como secured promotion to Serie A 18 months after his arrival. What’s been interesting about Da Cunha’s development, however, is that he was initially used as a winger. It wasn’t until Cesc Fabregas took over the Como reins in July 2024 that the player began to fully realise his potential in the middle of the park.
The Spaniard took the Frenchman and transformed Da Cunha from a wideman to a central midfielder. In the time since, he’s been made captain.
“Fabregas has definitely played an extremely important role in my development,” Da Cunha said last month. “I arrived as a winger in Serie B, when we were fighting relegation, and now I’m playing in the Champions League, I’ve been called up to the France squad and I’ve moved into midfield because he saw potential in me.”
Como’s tempo setter
Under Fabregas, Da Cunha has seen a clear improvement in the way with which he controls games. Passes per 90 have steadily increased from 54.5 in 2024/25, to 64.9 last season. As things stand, Da Cunha is making 81.2 passes per 90. That ranks fifth of those to have made at least five appearances in Italy’s top tier this term.
A 94% pass accuracy is the sixth most in the division. Unsurprisingly, Como are one of the more dominant sides in Serie A. Only Inter (63.2%) have a better possession average than Fabregas’ side (61.4%) in the 2026/27 Serie A campaign.
Not only is Da Cunha exceptionally tidy on the ball, opponents struggle to rob the Como and France star of possession. Da Cunha is yet to be dispossessed in the Italian top-flight this season. He’s been done so just 44 times in 77 Serie A outings. The incident against Italy, then, was an exception to the rule.
France’s long-term midfield anchor?
This notable press resistance is exactly why Como are able to dictate proceedings with ease. The centre-backs are happy to shift the ball to Da Cunha, safe in the knowledge he’ll be able to hold off pressure to then set his side on the frontfoot. It’s why, despite the gaffe against Italy, Zidane should persist with Da Cunha.
France will dominate teams, and crucial to doing so is having centre-backs comfortable to play out from the back. That’s wasted without a midfielder who isn’t willing to receive the ball, even under pressure from opponents. Italy’s goal may have stemmed from Bastoni timing his challenge to perfection. However, this was a rare mishap from Da Cunha, who wasn’t helped by his teammates in the first place.
And with France’s international break drawing to a close, it’s imperative that Zidane look at the bigger picture rather than a split-second decision that cost Les Bleus another three points. Da Cunha has proven he can handle the pressure for the national team. Zidane needs to build his midfield around the Como star rather than look elsewhere.