MILAN, ITALY: Adrien Rabiot fired France to first place in their Nations League group with a headed brace in Sunday's 3-1 win over Italy at the San Siro.
Ex-Juventus midfielder Rabiot netted from Lucas Digne set-pieces in each half at the home of his former Milanese rivals to ensure that Les Bleus leapfrogged Italy into top spot in Group A2 on goal difference, with both teams already in the quarter-finals before kick-off.
Digne – like Rabiot making his 50th appearance for his country – was also crucial to France's second goal, as it was his stunning free-kick in the 33rd minute which crashed out off the woodwork and into the net off Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
France were on their way to top spot when Digne forced home via Vicario's back as they needed to win by at least two goals to move above Italy.
Andrea Cambiaso's neat first-time finish moments after Digne's strike put Italy back on top on head-to-head record, due to their 3-1 win in Paris back in September.
But Rabiot stepped up in the 65th minute to give France a positive end to what has been a tumultuous international break, with captain Kylian Mbappe left at home with little explanation from coach Didier Deschamps and a fraught goalless draw with Israel at the Stade de France on Thursday.
"It had been a while since we'd put in a performance like that. The fight and the team spirit should be highlighted," Rabiot said to TF1.
"This is the true face of the French national team."
A tally of 13 points from a group including France and Belgium seemed unlikely for Italy in the aftermath of their dreadful European Championship title defence in Germany.
And the renewed enthusiasm for the national team was clear among the more than 68,000 fans at the San Siro, with the majority of the empty seats located in the sparsely-populated away section given to the French supporters.
France were the better team but created very little from open play, while Cambiaso's strike was the result of a fine passing move and excellent work from Federico Dimarco, whose give-and-go with Sandro Tonali ended with a teasing cross for the Juventus winger to tuck home.
And substitute Moise Kean came close to reclaiming top spot for Italy deep in stoppage time when his stinging shot was well-saved by AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, one of a number of players competing in familiar surroundings.
"We lacked quality today, we didn't make good choices and we made mistakes with the ball," said Spalletti to RAI.
"You could see the team spirit out there. The defeat could cause us to lose some confidence but it shouldn't take away from what we've built."
The last six goals Italy have conceded have come from set-pieces, a fragility which is unusual for the traditionally defence-minded Azzurri and was exacerbated by an underwhelming display from Vicario.
Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario started in place of captain Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was left out before kick-off reportedly because of a stomach bug.
Donnarumma has been a frequent target of fans at the San Siro since his big-money move from AC Milan to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.