"A win that seemed impossible revives the Azzurri": Italy "dance in the rain" after France shock
The Italian press celebrated their national team's big win over France by a score of 3-1 yesterday, Thursday, in the UEFA Nations League, considering the victory to represent a fresh start for the Azzurri a few months after the shock of failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Italy had missed the last three World Cup finals. On this night, their press found every reason to celebrate: the Azzurri had beaten France, despite the gulf in star quality between the two squads.
France, fourth at the 2026 World Cup, arrived at the San Siro on Thursday chasing a win that would seal top spot in Group One of the first path. The hosts had other ideas, producing a combative display that tipped the scales their way.
Zinedine Zidane's side struck first. Italy hit back with a stunning comeback to snatch first place on 10 points, ahead of France on the head-to-head record.
Daniele Manusia, correspondent for the "RMC" network in Italy, said: "For Italy, this is a stunning achievement, almost hard to believe. From our point of view, France is the best team in the world in terms of players. Italy is not in the same world as France when it comes to individual abilities, but they reached the win through their style of play."
"San Siro began to believe in the start of Mancini's new era"
"La Gazzetta dello Sport" celebrated the new beginning under Roberto Mancini with a striking front-page headline: "Italy shakes".
The paper poked fun at the weather that drenched the match, asking: "Have you ever tried playing football in a swimming pool?".
It added: "That is how Italy's first ten minutes looked: water everywhere. The rain was pouring down and France was pressing hard, they drowned us and suffocated us. The chances were raining down, and what a rain of chances! It could have looked like the start of a nightmare, but France eased off a little and Italy regained their balance."
The turning point came on 59 minutes, when Sebastiano Esposito missed a penalty. The paper reckoned that moment changed the course of the night.
It wrote: "Everyone thought the same thing: it's over, the match is turning. And indeed, it turned in Italy's favour. Italy came to control the match, and San Siro began to believe that we had beaten the best team in the world, and that a new era for Mancini had officially begun."
"Italy recovers its greatness"
Over at "La Repubblica", the verdict was that "Italy recovers its greatness". "Corriere della Sera" hailed the start of the national team's return to the top and urged readers not to downplay the win.
The paper said: "In the bars, on the trams and on the trains, some will tell you that Italy always wins when the matches are less important, and that France, in the absence of Mbappé and Dembélé, will finish the group at the top. That may be true, but what does it matter?".
It added: "Eight months ago, we were stuck in Zenica with no way out, while now San Siro shakes with joy under the rain, as if this Italian national team, which beats France on its own soil for the first time since 1962, when Altafini scored two goals, had always been there and had never stumbled."
"A night that seemed impossible"
Corriere signed off on an optimistic note, pointing to clear signs that this team can build a new generation.
It wrote: "Amid the dancing in the rain, Italy gave itself a night that seemed almost impossible, but which on the contrary was pure happiness carrying hope for a future worthy of the four stars with which the Azzurri adorn their shirt."
It added: "From Pio to Caiudi, from Calafiori to Cambiaghi, passing through Scalvini and Vergara, we are looking at a team whose players have an average age of 25, and which looks to the future."
