IN PICTURES Italy - France: The ordeal of Gusto, the vista of Da Cunha and Olise... The notes of the Blues after this hiccup

We were really impatient to reunite with Zinédine Zidane's Blues this Thursday in Italy, given the long and refreshing first international gathering. And there, a month after a mixed draw (1-1) at the Stade de France against the same opponent, the French team strangely lost the thread of its meeting, to the point of conceding its first setback of the “Zizou” era.

The unexpected scenario of this 5th day of the League of Nations, which sees the Nazionale now ahead (on goal average) of the Blues at the top of group 1, can partly be explained by the absences of the two best French scorers during the 2026 World Cup, namely Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé.

Before having to ensure its qualification for the quarter-finals of this League of Nations during a final match against Turkey, Sunday (8:45 p.m.) in Bordeaux, the French team must analyze certain poor performances on this hiccup at San Siro. 20 Minutes takes care of it by revealing these international break notes that you are waiting for so much.

Maignan (4/10): No “Magic Mike” on the menu for this Italy-France (3-1). In a San Siro stadium which has seen him shine so much over the past five years, the Blues goalkeeper has never been decisive. We especially think of the first goal, when Pio Esposito placed his recovery close to his body for the Italian equalizer (1-1, 26th).

Hardly reassuring on an aerial backheel from Pio Esposito (53rd), he did nothing to calm the wind of panic very present above the French defense in the second half. To his credit, we can still point out that his reputation in taking penalties may have made the unfortunate Sebastiano Esposito tremble, author of a heavy strike on the side (60th).

Gusto (1/10): To his credit, a tight cross which brought danger in front of Donnarumma's cage (19th). For the rest, there is an endless list of situations where he put his team in trouble. Starting with the Italian equalizer from Pio Esposito (1-1, 26th) since at the start, it was he who was mystified by his direct opponent Nicolo Cambiaghi, author of the dice pass. And this is clearly not the only time in the match where the usual Chelsea substitute full-back suffered.

He thus cost the Blues a penalty (missed by Sebastiano Esposito) on which he showed great naivety, by unbalancing Cambiaghi just when he no longer had to indulge (58th). It was again his right side, targeted all evening by Roberto Mancini, who found himself pierced by the joker Di Marco on Frattesi's 2-1 (63rd).

He could even have been sanctioned before that with another penalty, after insistently pulling the jersey of the essential Cambiaghi (49th). A mystery remains: how was he able to stay on the field until the 74th minute of play (the defender of Wolfsburg, in German D2, Saël Kumbedi replaced him) given the rage he had throughout the match? Seriously, wouldn't it be time to review your judgment regarding the most appropriate position for Warren Zaire-Emery during this gathering, and even in the medium term, "Zizou"?

Upamecano (3/10): For 25 minutes, we said to ourselves that Dayot Upamecano had gone back for an evening in his usual merciless style, making the evening of his opposite number Pio Esposito as painful as possible. Except that his solid start was tarnished by a lack of vigilance on the first goal of the interist striker (1-1, 26th). The young center forward thus gave him a lesson in movement at the near post as he rarely experiences in “his” area.

Then when the blue boat started to sink, the usual Bayern rock missed again by poorly controlling his intervention on Vergara in the area. And here is an avoidable penalty caused (3-1, 74th), following his very penalizing red card during the first leg (1-1). This Nazionale, so often mocked in particular for its lack of offensive talent, definitely did not succeed.

Da Cunha (7/10): The captain of Como is stunning and has everything he needs to be a long-lasting hit with Zinédine Zidane. His half-volley missile, not so far from Donnarumma's top corner (10th), gave us a first technical thrill. Then it was in his combinations on the ground that he then shone, as in this superb exchange with Cherki and Olise at the start of a huge opportunity from Barcola concluded on the transalpine post (35th).

Also valuable in the high recovery, Lucas Da Cunha thus launched a situation poorly negotiated by Cherki (51st), just before projecting himself again at full speed to skilfully shift Rabiot (57th). His activity and technical accuracy are a real treat. Mini-downside: as in the first leg (no thanks Rabiot), he is unfortunately in the picture of a goal (the third), even if the responsibility of Truffert and Upamecano is much more involved at the time (74th).

Cherki (5/10): We really liked the powerful, quickly drawn strikes aspect of the City playmaker, like in the 32nd minute (off frame), and especially in the 52nd. Because this huge strike from the right pushed his usual teammate Donnarumma into a hell of a save to deflect it onto his post straight away. On the other hand, Rayan Cherki's frantic dribbling face in the decisive areas could have been more annoying. We especially think of this 51st minute of play, where he did too much, in the open area, before getting bogged down in the solid Italian defense.

Rabiot (6/10): His first international armband around his arm suited him well this Thursday. Because Adrien Rabiot showed a lot of style/personality in certain game situations, like when he had to cut off a sharp raid from Calafiori (24th). The Milanese also did not hesitate to throw himself into the Italian area, with more or less success.

We appreciated his heavy strike well repelled by Donnarumma (57th). On the other hand, much earlier in the evening, he had unfortunately taken a close-up header, also making the former PSG goalkeeper shine (9th). Doubts surrounded his chances of joining Zidane's project, at his advanced age (31), but Adrien Rabiot shows that he can still provide many services.

Olise (6/10): The light once again came from Michael Olise, the offensive strongman of the “ZZ” era until then. While he even knew how to trigger the stifling tricolor pressing straight away, the Bayern Munich star winger was quickly rewarded, opening the scoring with an offering... from Donnarumma, enhanced by a solo number of which he has the secret (10th).

Determining later to launch Bradley Barcola, very close to restoring the advantage to the Blues (post in the 35th), Olise signed a remarkable first half. OK, his return from the locker room was marked by lost balls, and a generally uneven second half. But he had the merit of not giving up, and of creating the rare opportunities at the end of the match, with a nice free kick (87th) and a sudden volley (90th + 4), each time narrowly wide.

Barcola (5/10): In a central position that he was no longer used to occupying since the youth categories of OL, Bradley Barcola rather managed to participate in the game. Unsurprisingly attracted by the left side, as on a nice tumble (17th), he sometimes managed to show his technical palette in this center-forward register that he is not viscerally.

His purest action as number 9 took place in the 35th minute of play, when he infiltrated the axis in transition to roll up a marvel of strike. This was unfortunately pushed back by the post of a very beaten Donnaruma. Like the symbol of an evening that was not going to go well. But in the combined absence of Dembélé and Mbappé, Liverpool's flagship recruit showed that she could be a credible recourse on the attacking front.