Zidane's last match as a player ended with a red card against Italy. Friday is his first at home as France coach.

France host Italy at the Stade de France on Friday. Kickoff is 8.45pm local, 2.45pm ET, 11.45am PT. France lead Group A1 on six points; Italy have three. 12

Zinedine Zidane has coached France twice, both away. Friday is his first at home, against the country that ended his playing career. 3

In the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin he headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest and was sent off; Italy won the shootout and he never played again. "I'm not proud of what happened, but you can't always do just good things," Zidane said Thursday. "We're going to try to win in front of our fans." 34

Two matches, two wins, nothing conceded, Michael Olise's late goal winning it in Brussels. 5 Kylian Mbappé is out with the knee he hurt scoring in İzmit, so Olise, who has 13 goal involvements in his last 14 France games, carries the attack. 6

Roberto Mancini's second spell opened with a 2-0 home loss to Belgium. Italy then led Türkiye 3-0 in Bursa and won 4-1, debutant Michael Kayode scoring one and making another. 5 Pio and Sebastiano Esposito started together, the first Italian brothers to do so since 1915. Mancini left nine players at home, with Giacomo Raspadori injured. 45

The teams last met in November 2024, France winning 3-1 in Milan. 7 A France win puts them six clear of Italy; Belgium play Türkiye at the same time. 1

Verdict: Italy's 4-1 was the best football either side has played here. France have won twice by one goal.