Pio Esposito double lifts Italy above France in Nations League

Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro on Thursday, with two goals from Francesco Pio Esposito and another from Davide Frattesi overturning Michael Olise's opener. The victory put Italy first in Nations League Group A1. Football Italia's report, carried by Yahoo Sports, described a match in which the hosts recovered from a goalkeeping error and a missed penalty to win.

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France took the lead after Gianluigi Donnarumma gave the ball to Olise while trying to play out from defence. The goalkeeper had already been called into action against Adrien Rabiot. Italy answered when Nicolò Cambiaghi reached the byline on the left and supplied Pio Esposito, who finished from close range. Sebastiano Esposito then tested Mike Maignan as Italy threatened to move ahead.

The visitors continued to create chances either side of half-time. Bradley Barcola struck the post before the interval, and Donnarumma later turned Rayan Cherki's effort against the woodwork. Italy also had an opportunity through Cambiaghi that Maignan kept out. Those exchanges left the match level before a sequence of penalties and substitutions shifted the result decisively towards the home side.

According to Italpress, Cambiaghi won a penalty that Sebastiano Esposito sent wide, but Italy soon found another route to goal. Federico Dimarco came off the bench and supplied the pass for Frattesi to put the hosts ahead. Pio Esposito subsequently converted a second penalty, won by Antonio Vergara, to complete his double. Italpress reported that the striker now has nine goals in 14 Italy appearances.

The result ended Italy's long wait for a home victory over France, stretching back to 1962. It also maintained their recovery from an opening group defeat against Belgium. Results listed by Football Web Pages show that Italy followed that setback with victories over Turkey on either side of a 1-1 draw away to France, before winning Thursday's return meeting in Milan.

Belgium stayed in contention by beating Turkey 2-1 on the same evening. The final round on Sunday sends Italy to Belgium, while France host Turkey. Italpress reported that a draw in Belgium would be enough for Italy to reach the quarter-finals, giving the team a clear qualification target after their comeback at San Siro.