Heated Summit Between Italy and France at 'San Siro' in Nations League

Italy hope to end their recent string of negative results at home against France when the two sides meet today at Milan’s San Siro stadium. The match is part of the fifth and penultimate round of the first stage of the UEFA Nations League football tournament, with the top spot in Group 1 at stake.

Italy currently sit second in the group with seven points, three behind France, who only need a draw to reach the quarter-finals.

Italy have won four of their last six international matches, giving them reasons to be optimistic about their chances of overcoming France.

The 1-1 draw in the first leg went against Italy’s recent upward trajectory following their failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. They are aiming to reach the final stages for the third time in their last four appearances (finishing third in 2020-2021 and 2022-2023), but their task will not be easy after losing three of their last four home matches in the competition.

France, meanwhile, are enjoying a standout year and arrive in Milan with ambitions of matching their record for the most victories in a single calendar year (13 wins).

In their last appearance, they defeated Belgium 4-1, raising their total goals across all competitions in 2026 to 36, the second-highest tally among European national teams this year behind England (39).

Zinedine Zidane hopes his team will continue their strong attacking displays, as he seeks a fourth victory in his first five matches in charge.

In the same group, Turkey, whose relegation from the top tier is now almost certain, begin a new era under a new manager when they host Belgium, who are striving to keep their hopes alive.

Turkey’s disastrous start in their first campaign in the top tier (four defeats) led to the sacking of their Italian manager Vincenzo Montella after three years in charge, with Sergen Yalçın replacing him.

The players of Dutch coach Mark van Bommel are trying to regain their balance ahead of the crucial final match against Italy next Sunday.

Spain, the world champions and one of two teams implicitly qualified for the quarter-finals alongside Portugal, look set to maintain their perfect record when they travel to face bottom-placed, winless Czech Republic in Group 3.

Spain aim to retain top spot before hosting England on Sunday in the final round, thereby continuing to make history by extending their unbeaten run in regular time to more than 42 matches (33 wins and 9 draws), having not suffered a defeat since March 2024.

In the same group, two teams with vastly different objectives meet at Wembley Stadium. England seek to confirm their qualification, while Croatia look anxiously at their position at the bottom of the table.

The only thing separating England and Spain at the top is England’s home defeat to La Roja (2-3).

The English will have a chance for revenge in the final round, but securing a win against Turkey remains an essential condition for keeping their hopes of topping the group alive.