It all happened in the second half. The goals, Donnarumma's providential saves, and the introduction of Rossoblu player Daniel Maldini in the final ten minutes.

The Nations League match between France and Italy ended 1-1 in Saint-Denise. Roberto Mancini's Azzurri were looking for confirmation after their victory against Turkey, following their opening-day defeat against Belgium. And the response, positive, came on the pitch.

The opening goal came from an unstoppable free kick from Olise from the edge of the box: the ball went under the crossbar, unreachable for Donnarumma. The Azzurri struggled immediately, but mental strength prevailed over despair. In the 62nd minute, Mancini made two key changes: on came Vergara, making his debut for the Azzurri, and Barella, while Pio Esposito and Fagioli went off. The equalizer came six minutes later: Bastoni capitalized on a poor mistake by Da Cunha during the build-up, ripped the ball from his feet, and then beat Maignan. But the drama didn't end there, as Barella nearly doubled the lead. At the back, the French forays were stopped by an alert Donnarumma. The balance was maintained until the final whistle.

The first half

The first half ended 0-0 with no goals thanks to good organisation in the Azzurri defence, which allowed Olise and his teammates to be contained.

Looking at the number of chances, the Azzurri showed no signs of fear in the first half. There were two scoring opportunities: Kean missed a shot from just outside Maignan's goal, while Frattesi's shot from a corner also ended up in the bag, with the ball going just wide of the post.

For Zidane's team, the only real chance came from a cross from Olise that Tonali deflected onto the crossbar.

(Unioneonline)

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