Italy shattered all kinds of records by beating France 3-1, some of them negative, but also their first win in Paris for 70 years.
The Azzurri started with a bad record, conceding their fastest ever goal after just 14 seconds when Bradley Barcola robbed Giovanni Di Lorenzo to shock a Gianluigi Donnarumma who hadn’t even tied his gloves up properly.
However, Federico Dimarco became the first Italy player to score in a competitive match against France since Daniele De Rossi at EURO 2008.
Italy tear up record books in France
When Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori scored in the second half to seal the 3-1 result, it was the first time Les Bleus had conceded three at home in a competitive fixture since losing 3-2 to Russia in 1999.
Italy had not won in Paris for 70 years, going back to another 3-1 result at the Stade de Colombes on April 11, 1954.
That was a friendly, just like all three games that Didier Deschamps won against the Nazionale on the France bench.
Purely in competitive matches, France have not beaten the Azzurri since the opening EURO 2008 qualifier in September 2006, which was the first match after the 2006 World Cup glory in Berlin.
By the time an Italian in Platini won France their first trophy, we already had 3 world cups and a euro. France can’t be the standard for Italy. A win in a glorified friendly cannot be seen as ‘progress’. Italy need to qualify for the World Cup, and get back to being consistent at tournaments.
Of course, but it’s a step in the right direction. They need to get their confidence back and against one of the best teams in the world, it’s a good start.