Zidane after defeat to Italy: "I told the players we shouldn't panic"

France head coach Zinedine Zidane said after the match that his side should not panic following their 3-1 defeat to Italy in the UEFA Nations League.

France took the lead through Michael Olise in Milan but could not hold on to it, and Zidane suffered his first defeat in the job he took over from Didier Deschamps. The goals that gave Italy victory and top spot in Group A1 were scored by Davide Frattesi and Francesco Pio Esposito, who struck twice. The result was France's ninth defeat to Italy in matches in which they scored first, the most they have suffered against any opponent in that scenario.

Italy were awarded two penalties in the match: Sebastiano Esposito missed the first, while his brother Francesco converted the second.

With France still second and well placed to reach the quarter-finals, Zidane said his players needed to stay calm. Speaking to TF1 after the match, the France head coach said: "There were some good things, especially in the first half where we should have focused on what we did well. After that, we did some less good things. We lost the match, so naturally there were some more complicated situations, particularly in duels and one-on-one situations; we weren't quite as good. It's all part of the learning process."

Zidane continued: "This wasn't a bad game. There's room for improvement. I told the players we shouldn't panic. We became more fragile as the match went on. What I told them is that it was a defeat, but not entirely deserved. We did some good things and some not-so-good things. We'll analyse it when we're in Bordeaux to prepare for our match. We just need to rest and focus on the game we have left."

France will host Türkiye in Bordeaux in their final group match and will secure a place in the quarter-finals if they win.