France will host Italy in their UEFA Nations League 2024-25 campaign opener at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France.
The France vs Italy, UEFA Nations League 2024-25 League A Group 2 match will start at 12:15 AM IST on Saturday, September 7. Live streaming and telecast of the match will be available in India.
Under head coach Didier Deschamps, the France national football team will aim to bounce back after they suffered a 1-2 defeat against eventual Euro 2024 winners Spain in the semi-finals.
While Randal Kolo Muani’s early strike gave France hope of reaching the Euro 2024 finals, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo netted a goal each for Spain to knock Les Bleus out of the competition.
UEFA Nations League 2020-21 winners France also failed to defend their title in the previous edition of the competition after they finished third in the League A Group 1 standings.
Apart from Adrien Rabiot and Benjamin Pavard, Didier Deschamps has retained most of his Euro 2024 squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Italy and Belgium. The star-studded squad will once again be led by their talisman Kylian Mbappe.
Young winger Michael Olise has received his maiden national call-up after he had seven goal contributions at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
New Roma signing Manu Kone and defender Loic Bade have also been added to the squad.
On the other hand, the Italy national football team will look to turn things around after they failed to defend the UEFA European Championship. The Azzurri lost 0-2 to Switzerland in the Euro 2024 Round of 16 in Berlin.
Italy previously finished third in the last edition of the UEFA Nations League after they topped League A Group 3 standings under the tutelage of head coach Luciano Spalletti.
Ahead of the crucial UEFA Nations League 2024-25 clash, Italy will miss the services of Gianluca Scamacca and Nicolo Barella due to injuries.
A total of eight players from their Euro 2024 squad will not feature in the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Marco Brescianini and Caleb Okoli are two new faces included in the squad while the likes of Sandro Tonali, Destiny Udogie and Moise Kean have returned to the Italian squad.
The UEFA Nations League 2024-25 will have a total of 54 teams split into four leagues based on their international ranking. Three leagues A, B and C will contain four groups of four teams each whereas League D will have two groups of three teams.
Each team will play two games against every other team in their respective group on a home and away basis.
Teams in League A will vie for the UEFA Nations League final that is scheduled to be held in June 2025. All the four group winners and runners-up in League A will play a double-legged quarterfinals with the winners proceeding to play the semifinals.
Leagues B, C and D, meanwhile, will compete against each other for promotion or relegation to a higher or lower league.
Spain are the defending champions of the UEFA Nations League after they pipped Croatia on penalties in the final last year.
France vs Italy football head-to-head
The France vs Italy football head-to-head record favours the Azzurri. Italy have won 18 of the 37 matches that they have played against each other so far. France have registered 11 victories in this high-profile fixture. As many as eight matches have ended in draws.
The last time these two sides met, France secured a 3-1 win over Italy in an international friendly at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, France.
Samuel Umtiti, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were the goalscorers for France while Leonardo Bonucci netted the solitary goal for Italy.
Where to watch France vs Italy UEFA Nations League 2024-25 match live in India
The France vs Italy UEFA Nations League 2024-25 match will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Ten 1 SD and Sony Sports Ten 1 HD TV channels in India.
Live streaming of the France vs Italy UEFA Nations League 2024-25 match will be available on the SonyLIV app and website.
Photo credit: Imago
