Zinedine Zidane’s debut home match as manager of France ended in a thrilling 1-1 draw against Italy in the Nations League on Friday at Stade de France. The encounter delivered excitement for the home crowd, but not the desired outcome, primarily due to the stellar performance of Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Michael Olise opened the scoring for France in the 55th minute with a curling shot off the crossbar, set up by a clever free kick from Rayan Cherki. However, Italy equalized midway through the second half thanks to a defensive lapse, allowing Alessandro Bastoni to slide a low shot past the post.

Key moments included:

• Moise Kean missing a close-range opportunity early on.
• Donnarumma's double save against Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué.
• A brilliant stop against Adrien Rabiot just after Italy's equalizer.

Dayot Upamecano received a second yellow card late in the match, reducing France to ten men, yet they continued to seek a winner. Donnarumma's reflexes were crucial as he denied Eduardo Camavinga in stoppage time, ensuring a point for Italy.

In another match, Belgium cruised to a 3-0 victory over Turkey in Liège, maintaining pressure on France at the top of Group A1. Kevin De Bruyne scored twice, and Romelu Lukaku added a third to secure the win.

Meanwhile, in League B, Northern Ireland delivered a stunning 3-0 victory against Ukraine in Slovakia. Ciaron Brown netted twice, sandwiching a goal from Isaac Price, as Northern Ireland moved to the top of their group with seven points, still yet to concede a goal. The match saw Brown's first goal come from a corner, followed by Price's powerful strike, and a bizarre second goal as Dmytro Riznyk, Ukraine's goalkeeper, allowed a free-kick to slip through his legs.