Video: Italy return to spoil Zidane's night with France 20 years on!
A huge shock for Zizo
France and Italy shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw on Friday evening in the third round of the UEFA Nations League. The occasion carried an extra edge, with Zinedine Zidane facing the Italian national team once more, though this time from the sidelines rather than the pitch.
The result lifted France to seven points, keeping them top of Group One. Italy, meanwhile, climbed to four points and third place after the Azzurri fought back from a goal down to rescue a draw.
Oyarzabal opens the scoring: Italy respond quickly
The first half ended goalless. Michael Olise broke the deadlock in the 55th minute, handing France the lead after a spell of pressure in which they chased their dominance and carved out chance after chance.
France could not hold on for long. Alessandro Bastoni dragged Italy level in the 68th minute, winning the ball superbly before driving forward and firing into the net to level the contest.
Bastoni's strike lit the game up again. Both sides traded blows in search of a winner that would seal the three points, with the two goalkeepers producing brilliant saves at the decisive moments.
Donnarumma and Maignan shine: the chances keep coming
France almost regained the lead more than once. The most dangerous moment arrived through Ousmane Dembélé, who came within inches of finding the back of Donnarumma's net, only for the Italian goalkeeper to shine and deny the hosts a second goal.
Dembélé was far from France's only threat. Doué unleashed a powerful shot that nearly handed the French the lead, but Donnarumma stood tall once more, parrying the effort to keep Italy's hopes of a positive result alive.
At the other end, Moise Kean almost snatched a second for Italy. Maignan read it perfectly, flinging himself across to produce a magnificent save and deny the Azzurri the chance to turn the game on its head. The match finished level.
Italy spoil Zidane's night: memories of 2006 return
The draw handed the fixture a special historic resonance for Zinedine Zidane. This was his first meeting with Italy since the 2006 World Cup final, when the two sides clashed in Berlin in a match that ended 1-1 before the Azzurri took the title on penalties.
That night ranks among the most brutal of Zidane's playing career. Sent off in extra time for his headbutt on Italian defender Marco Materazzi, he left the pitch in his final match wearing the France shirt.
Nearly 20 years on, Italy once again imposed themselves on Zidane, though in a different fashion this time. They denied France the joy of a win and settled for a draw, spoiling part of the special night Zidane had been anticipating against the team bound up with the most controversial moments of his playing days.
No winner emerged, but Italy walked away with a precious point. Zidane's night was tied to the Azzurri once more, in a scene that stirred memories of the Berlin final, even if the details differed this time between one stadium and another, and between Zidane the player and the Zidane living the experience from a different seat.
