PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: Michael Kayode of Italy passes the ball under pressure from France’s Adrien Rabiot during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group stage match between France and Italy at Stade de France on October 02, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pauline Figuet/Getty Images)
Italy held France to a 1-1 draw on Thursday, scoring more first-half goals against Les Bleues in a home game than any national team since the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
In the last 10 years, no side has scored more goals in the first half than Italy vs. France
Roberto Mancini’s second game in charge of the Azzurri started with a 2-0 defeat at home to Belgium, but he bounced back this week with two impressive results away to Turkey (1-4) and France (1-1).
Given Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and France being semi-finalists in 2026, finalists in 2022 and winners in 2018, a draw at the Stade de France was seen as a positive result by many across the peninsula. Mancini looked disappointed to have to settle for a point full time.
Even if the reports in France suggest that the home side dominated and the visitors were lucky to have a strong goalkeeper like Gianluigi Donnarumma, there are some encouraging first-half statistics that show Italy are trying to swing the game in Zinedine Zidane’s favor.
Italy finished the first 45 minutes in Paris with eight shot attempts, more than any national team away to France since the semi-finals of Euro 2016: Germany scored 11 en route to a 2-0 defeat in Marseille that evening.