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France will host Italy on Friday in a highly anticipated UEFA Nations League Group A1 encounter, with Zinedine Zidane set to manage Les Bleus at home for the first time.
The match will take place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, with kick-off scheduled for 8:45pm local time.
Zidane, who replaced Didier Deschamps in July, has made a winning start to his tenure, guiding France to victories over Türkiye and Belgium in his first two matches.
France currently lead the group with six points after securing identical 1-0 victories in both games.
Italy, meanwhile, have three points and sit second from bottom after losing 2-0 to Belgium before responding with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Türkiye.
The French side will be without captain Kylian Mbappe, who suffered a knee injury after scoring against Türkiye and has been ruled out for about two weeks.
Warren Zaire-Emery is also unavailable with a thigh injury, while Matteo Guendouzi is suspended.
Despite the absences, France have considerable attacking options, with Michael Olise and Desire Doue among the players expected to attract attention.
Olise has been directly involved in both of France's goals in the current Nations League campaign, while Doue provided the assist for his goal against Belgium.
Italy will look to Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Frattesi for attacking inspiration after both players scored in the team's 4-1 victory over Türkiye.
Esposito has also been part of a notable family moment for Italian football, having started alongside his older brother Sebastiano in the match against Türkiye.
The two brothers became the first siblings to start together for Italy in more than a century.
France and Italy last met in the Nations League in November 2024, when France defeated the Azzurri 3-1 in Milan.
Adrien Rabiot scored twice for France in that encounter, while an own goal from Guglielmo Vicario completed their tally. Andrea Cambiaso scored Italy's consolation goal.
Overall, the two countries have met 41 times, with Italy recording 20 victories, France 12 and nine matches ending in draws.
Zidane said returning to the Stade de France as coach would be an emotional occasion, having last appeared at the stadium as a player in a 2006 friendly against Mexico.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini said facing Zidane would be a pleasure but stressed that the contest should not be viewed as a personal battle between the two former players.
With close to 80,000 spectators expected at the national stadium, Friday's encounter promises to provide another major test for both teams as they continue their Nations League campaigns.
