This Thursday, the French national team will face Italy in the Nations League at 8:45 PM CET at the San Siro stadium. Ahead of the match, Le Parisien and L’Équipe have attempted to predict the lineups that will be fielded by French manager Zinedine Zidane and his Italian counterpart, Roberto Mancini. The match involves three players from Paris Saint-Germain—all French: Warren Zaïre-Emery (20-year-old midfielder), Senny Mayulu (21-year-old midfielder/forward) and Désiré Doué (21-year-old midfielder/forward). Both are expected to start.
Italy –
Le Parisien (4-3-3) –
Cambiaghi – P. Esposito – S. Esposito
Barella – Tonali – Frattesi
Calafiori – Bastoni – Scalvini – Kayode
Donnarumma
L’Équipe (4-3-3) –
Cambiaghi – P. Esposito – S. Esposito
Barella – Tonali – Frattesi
Calafiori – Bastoni – Scalvini – Kayode
Donnarumma
France –
Le Parisien (4-3-3) –
Barcola – Doué – Olise
Rabiot – Da Cunha – Cherki
Truffert – Upamecano – Jacquet – Gusto
Maignan
L’Équipe (4-3-3) –
Barcola – Doué – Olise
Rabiot – Da Cunha – Cherki
Truffert – Upamecano – Jacquet – Gusto
Maignan
As always, we should remain cautious, as these are not the official lineups. Each team setup is plausible, given the available players and recent matches. However, competition for spots on both sides leaves room for other options—not to mention the possibility of a tactical gamble designed to catch the opponent off guard. In any case, Zidane is somewhat compelled to innovate, given the high number of absentees.
Deploying Doué as a “false nine” is one possibility, but we could also see Pablo Pagis, Senny Mayulu, or Eli Junior Kroupi in that role. In any event, coaches generally avoid tipping their hand to the media, so we will have to wait for the official team announcements—roughly an hour before kickoff—to know for sure.
