Nations League line-ups: Italy vs. France

Nations League line-ups: Italy vs. France Italy rely on the Esposito brothers, Sandro Tonali, Riccardo Calafiori and Michael Kayode in the Nations League, as France look to Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola, with Kylian Mbappé injured. It kicks off at San Siro in Milan at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET). You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog. BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Roberto Mancini, Manager of Italy, looks on before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) This is a head-to-head for the top of Group A1, where France go into this round on 10 points, followed by Italy with seven and Belgium six, but only the first two teams will enter the quarter-finals of the tournament. The Azzurri had a disastrous start to the group, losing 2-0 at home to Belgium, followed by back-to-back victories over Turkiye and an impressive 1-1 draw in Paris last month. Roberto Mancini sticks to his 4-3-3 formation, with Pio and Sebastiano Esposito joined by Bologna’s Niccolò Cambiaghi in the trident attack. BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alessandro Bastoni of Italy during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Tonali, Lazio’s on form Davide Frattesi and Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella are in midfield, with Kayode of Brentford and Arsenal’s Calafiori chosen as full-backs, leaving Federico Dimarco on the bench. Gianluigi Donnarumma will hope the Milan fans can finally stop jeering him every time he plays at San Siro, as they have still not forgiven his exit as a free agent in 2021. This stadium has not been kind for Italy lately, as they lost their last three matches here. Gianluca Mancini and Nicolò Zaniolo withdrew from the squad, while Mattia Liberali, Alphadjo Cisse, Niccolò Pisilli, Matteo Palma, Federico Gatti and Honest Ahanor were left out ahead of the final trip to Brussels. Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates with his brother Sebastiano Esposito during Turkiye vs. Italy in the Nations League (@azzurri) France have won every game under Zinedine Zidane except for the 1-1 with the Azzurri, but Mbappé is named on the bench, even if he is not expected to play due to a hamstring issue. It’s only the latest in a long line of injuries, including Inter’s Marcus Thuram, Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu, Roma midfielder Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé, Aurelien Tchouameni, William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul. Michael Olise scores the opening goal for France against Italy in the Nations League MD3 (@lequipe) It is therefore a reshuffle trident attack with Olise, Doué and Barcola likely to be fluid in their positions to confuse the opposition defenders. Serie A representation is provided by Milan pair Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot, plus Como midfielder Lucas Da Cunha, though Inter’s Andy Diouf is on the bench. PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: Mike Maignan of France walks out of the tunnel before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between France and Italy at Stade de France on October 02, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pauline Figuet/Getty Images) Italy vs. France line-ups Italy: Donnarumma; Kayode, Scalvini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Frattesi, Tonali, Barella; Sebastiano Esposito, Pio Esposito, Cambiaghi France: Maignan; Gusto, Jacquet, Upamecano, Truffert; Cherki, Da Cunha, Rabiot; Olise, Doué, Barcola Ref: Kovacs (ROU)