Italy surprised by France’s quickest goal, but they came back with a 3-1 lead

Paris., Italy were stunned after 13 seconds when Bradley Barcola scored the fastest goal in history for France, but the Azzurri fought back to come back from 3-1 down at the Parc des Princes on Matchday 1 of the Nations League.

“It hurts us all. Congratulations to Italy, we lacked things, but we can’t dwell on it too much. It’s my responsibility, we have to accept it without looking for excuses,” said French coach Didier Deschamps.

Early on, Frenchman Barcola capitalised on a mistake by the Italian defence to seal his first goal in six games, beating his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was a blow for Italy in their first match, just two months after failing to claim the Euro 2019 crown and losing in the last 16 to Switzerland.

Then Federico Dimarco (30) appeared, with a powerful shot that beat AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan after a splendid pass from Sandro Tonali. In the second half, Davide Frattesi (51) and Giacomo Raspadori (74) scored to mark a well-deserved celebration.

This result puts French coach Didier Deschamps in the crosshairs. Indeed, part of the Parc des Princes chanted “Zizou, Zizou!”, in reference to Zinedine Zidane replacing him as coach.

Griezmann and Mbappé missing

France’s two leaders, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann, extended the ordeal they experienced at the Euros. The former, back at PSG’s stadium after signing for Real Madrid, did not pose any danger, while the latter also had no influence on the game.

“The goal after 13 seconds was something that could have driven us crazy but we reacted very well. We remained focused and did good things, beyond the goals. We were huge tonight,” said Italian coach Luciano Spalletti.

France will play Belgium on Monday in Lyon in the second round of the Nations League, while Italy will face Israel on the same day.

In other results, Belgium 3-1 Israel, Norway 0-0 Kazakhstan, Slovenia 1-1 Austria, Wales vs Turkey 0-0, Iceland vs Montenegro 2-0, Lithuania 0-1 Cyprus, Kosovo 0-3 Romania.