France vs Italy prediction, tips, stats & team news | Uefa Nations League
It will be a battle of the behemoths when France take on Italy in their Uefa Nations League A opener on Friday.
The two nations come into this game off the back of differing performances at Euro 2024. France made it to the semi-finals despite their struggles in front of goal, while Italy were knocked out in the round of 16.
Three France vs Italy predictions
France 3-1 Italy (12/1 with BoyleSports)
Two of the past three meetings between France and Italy have ended in 3-1 victories for Les Bleus.
Kylian Mbappe to score anytime (5/4 with Bet365)
Kylian Mbappe had a rough Euro 2024 but he will be hoping to get back up and running in the Uefa Nations League. Mbappe has scored seven goals in 15 Uefa Nations League appearances so far, more than any other Frenchman.
France to win and BTTS (11/4 with Sky Bet)
France have beaten Italy with both teams scoring in each of their past three meetings.
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How to watch France vs Italy live
France vs Italy will be broadcast live at 7:45pm (UK time) on Friday 6th September on Premier Sports.
How both teams go into France vs Italy
France are one of the three countries to have won the Uefa Nations League, lifting the trophy in 2020/21. Four years ago, they beat Spain 2-1 in the final, but their defence ended at the group stage last time out — finishing third and just about avoiding relegation.
Les Bleus come into the second half of 2024 after an interesting Euro 2024. Didier Deschamps’ men made it all the way to the semi-finals but they failed to really inspire. France scored just four goals in their six Euro 2024 games, with one being a penalty and two own goals. It is vital now for France to prove that was merely a blip, rather than a sign of struggles to come.
Italy have reached the Uefa Nations League Finals twice so far, but have had to settle for third both times. They were beaten by Spain in the semi-finals on both occasions, so they’ll be hoping this is the year their luck changes.
The Azzurri massively underwhelmed at Euro 2024. They went into the tournament as defending champions but conceded the fastest-ever goal in the competition’s history in their opening game. Italy did come back to beat Albania in that match, but that was to be their only victory at Euro 2024. They lost to Spain and drew with Croatia, before being knocked out in the last 16 by Switzerland.
France host Italy at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday 6th September at 7:45pm (UK time).
France team news
Olivier Giroud has retired from international football, leaving a hole in the France squad. But the veteran had already become more of a bit-part player, with Kylian Mbappe leading the line.
Ferland Mendy, Wesley Fofana and Aurelien Tchouameni have all pulled out of the squad due to injury. Fofana’s absence is more to manage his workload after only recently returning from a long spell on the sidelines. Lucas Digne has been called up to replace Mendy, while Manu Kone, Loic Bade and Michael Olise will be hoping for debuts.
Italy team news
Destiny Udogie is back in the Italy squad having missed Euro 2024 through injury. Nine of Italy’s squad for the Euros will not be involved during this international break including Gianluca Scamacca, Federico Chiesa, Nicolo Barella and Jorginho.
Scamacca suffered a serious knee injury and will be out until the new year, while Barella is undergoing nose surgery. Chiesa and Jorginho are yet to feature this season, the former only recently signing for Liverpool.
France vs Italy head-to-head
France have won their last three games against Italy. However, all three were friendlies and these two nations haven’t faced off since before the 2018 World Cup.
| France vs Italy H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 01/06/18 | France 3-1 Italy | Allianz Riviera, Nice | |||||
| 01/09/16 | Italy 1-3 France | Stadio Comunale, Turin | |||||
| 14/11/12 | Italy 1-2 France | Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma | |||||
| 17/06/08 | France 0-2 Italy | Letzigrund, Zurich | |||||
| 08/09/07 | Italy 0-0 France | San Siro, Milan | |||||
| 06/09/06 | France 3-1 Italy | Stade de France, Paris | |||||
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