Adrien Rabiot scored two headers as France beat Italy 3-1 at the San Siro to overtake the Azzurri and win Nations League Group A2.

The Marseille midfielder met Lucas Digne's corner to give Les Bleus the lead.

Aston Villa defender Digne's free-kick then hit the crossbar and went in off Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Italy would have finished top had they lost by only one goal and Andrea Cambiaso's cushioned volley gave them hope.

But Rabiot's excellent header into the top corner from Digne's left-wing free-kick settled things for France.

Both Rabiot and Digne were winning their 50th caps.

Moise Kean almost put Italy top deep into injury time but his effort was saved by Mike Maignan.

Referring to Italy's 3-1 win at the Parc des Princes in September, Maignan said: "We were out for revenge. It was about pride after losing at home against them."

This was Italy's biggest home defeat in a competitive game since losing 3-0 to Sweden in 1983.

Coach Didier Deschamps, who left Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe out of the squad, said: "We had a young squad.

"I wanted to see a lot of players and winning here against an Italian team who were full of confidence is a great performance."

Both sides already knew they were going to play in the Nations League quarter-finals in March.

France will be seeded and Italy will not off the back of their final positions in the group.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1334 HRS, NOV 18, 2024
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