France vs Italy Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League | League A Group 2
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It is one of the glamour ties of European football and it does have a competitive edge with it being the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League as Didier Deschamps’ France take on Luciano Spalletti’s Italians this week.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Friday 6th September, 2024 - UK – 7:45pm / US ET – 2:45pm / US PT – 11:45am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports streaming platforms
FRANCE PREVIEW: LES BLEUS’ REBUILD
Didier Deschamps decided to stay on as France manager after UEFA EURO 2024 and try to push on ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, which will be his seventh major tournament as manager of the French side.
In his previous six tournaments, they have won one, reached the final of another two, a semi-final, a quarter-final and the Round of 16. Some may well argue that for the riches at his disposal, that is actually an underperformance.
ITALY PREVIEW: UNDERPERFORMING AZZURRI
Luciano Spalletti managed to avoid the ignominy of the then defending UEFA European Championship champions Italy missing out on the next UEFA EUROs but their performance at UEFA EURO 2024 left a lot to be desired.
After a come from behind but still unconvincing 2-1 defeat of Albania in their opener, they were then soundly beaten only 1-0 by Spain before a last-gasp equaliser against Croatia saw them through but they were then comfortably outplayed by Switzerland in the Round of 16.
FRANCE TEAM NEWS: FRENCH FRUSTRATIONS
After Thierry Henry had plenty of players withdrawn ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Didier Deschamps is also being dealt a bad hand with Wesley Fofana, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni pulling out with ‘injuries’.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Kante; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Thuram
UNAVAILABLE: Fofana (Injured), Mendy (Injured), Tchouameni (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
ITALY TEAM NEWS: LOOKING FOR THE BALANCE
In the build-up to UEFA EURO 2024, Luciano Spalletti swapped between a back three and a back four and then he also did the same at the tournament with all good performances coming with the three-at-the-back system.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Donnarumma; Buongiorno, Bastoni, Calafiori; Di Lorenzo, Tonali, Pellegrini, Frattesi, Dimarco; Raspadori, Zaccagni
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
FRANCE VS ITALY PREDICTION
Frustratingly for neutrals, as well as many France supporters, the style of football that has been implemented by Deschamps, whilst effective to a point, is so underwhelming that it becomes tedious. They take on an Italian side that are no longer blessed with attacking riches but do have an abundance of quality in defensive position and an Italy side likely to revert to a back three. As a result, we may not see the most entertaining clash for the neutral.
FRANCE VS ITALY TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS
