France held 1-1 by Italy in Zidane home debut after Olise stunner

Italy’s Alessandro Bastoni cancels out Michael Olise’s opener for France in 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw in Saint-Denis.Michael Olise scored another superb goal but France were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy on Friday in Zinedine Zidane’s first home game since being appointed coach of Les Bleus.Four days after coming off the bench to score a stunning solo effort to give France a 1-0 win in Belgium, Bayern Munich star Olise again showcased his spectacular talent by smashing a shot in off the crossbar from a free kick early in the second half.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4India vs Pakistan blockbuster clash to decide Asian Games gold medal winnerlist 2 of 4NBA closes sole Africa training academy in blow to young playerslist 3 of 4Johannesburg to host India vs Pakistan and final at Cricket World Cup 2027list 4 of 4Fury vs Joshua: Why was the fight delayed, and will it be worth the wait?end of listHowever, Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni equalised for Italy midway through the second half to prevent Zidane from making it three wins out of three in charge of his country.France, who had defender Dayot Upamecano sent off late on, lead UEFA Nations League Group A1 with seven points, with Belgium just behind on six points after a 3-0 win over Turkiye.France and Belgium meet on Monday in their last match of this two-week international window. Italy have four points before hosting Turkiye next.Zidane was the focus of attention as his home debut, before a packed crowd of 77,118 at the France" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="50025" data-entity-type="location">Stade de France just outside Paris, came against the same opponents as in his final game as a player.The now 54-year-old icon and former Ballon d’Or winner never played again after being sent off for an infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, which Italy won on penalties.It was a first appearance for the former Real Madrid playmaker at France’s national stadium since he played in a friendly against Mexico in May 2006, winning his 100th cap in the process.