◤UEFA Nations League◢ Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice as Italy secured a commanding 3-1 victory over France..

Italy secured a commanding 3-1 victory over France on Thursday at the San Siro in Milan, on matchday 5 of the Group A1 fixture of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League.

In the first half, Michael Olise capitalized on a glaring error by Donnarumma to score and marked a personal milestone. While Pio Esposito found the net from close range. After the break, Esposito missed a penalty, but Frattesi later scored with a powerful strike. Subsequently, Pio Esposito converted a penalty to seal the 3-1 win for Italy. Following this round of matches, the Azzurri, now on a four-match winning streak lead the group with 10 points. Les Bleus, also on 10 points, sit in second place due to an inferior goal difference.

First Half

In the 10th minute, France launched a deadly quick counterattack. Gianluigi Donnarumma committed a costly blunder while attempting to distribute the ball from his own penalty area. Michael Olise intercepted the ball and dribbled into the right side of the box before volleying the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with his right foot to give France a 0-1 lead. With this goal, Olise reached a tally of 25 goal contributions for the year, and it also marked his fifth consecutive international match with a goal after Zinedine Zidane had took over as head coach!

In the 26th minute, Nicolò Cambiaghi passes horizontally from the byline at the left side of the box. Upon receiving the pass, Francesco Pio Esposito pushed the ball with his right foot from a very close distance in the box. Although Mike Maignan managed to get a touch on the ball, it still deflected into the bottom right corner of the net, leveling the score at 1-1 for Italy!

At the halftime whistle, both Italy and France head into the break deadlocked at 1-1. 

Second Half

Both teams switched sides as the match continued, in the 58th minute, Cambiaghi dribbled into the ball left side of the left side box before being brought down by Jules Koundé. The referee immediately blew his whistle and awarded a penalty to Italy!

Sebastiano Esposito stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his right-footed effort sailed high over the bar. Italy squandered a golden opportunity to come from behind to take the lead over their opposition!

5 minutes later, Federico Dimarco crossed into the box from the edge of the byline on the left wing. Upon receiving the pass, Davide Frattesi volleyed the ball into the top left corner of the net with his left foot from the center of the box to extend Italy’s lead to 2–1!

In the 74th minute, Italy launched a deadly quick counterattack. After winning the ball back, Antonio Vergara was brought down on the right side of the box by Dayot Upamecano, prompting the referee to award another penalty!

Pio Esposito converted the spot-kick with his right foot, securing his second goal of the match and extending Italy’s lead to 3–1! This marks the Inter Milan wonderkid's 9th goal in an Azzurri shirt across all competitions.

When the final whistle is blown, Italy emerged victorious with a 3–1 win over France.

Image source: Internet / AFP