France vs Italy 02/06/18

2 June 2018

After a dominant 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland, France will host Italy at the Allianz Riviera in Nice that will be their second pre-World Cup preparation match. Les Bleus are widely recognized as one of the principal candidates to lift the World Cup trophy following an authoritative qualifying campaign and looking at the quality they possess within their respective ranks. On the other hand, Italy, who failed to secure their 19th World Cup appearance, have defeated Saudi Arabia by two goals to one earlier this week as they plan to maintain a positive spell under the new boss, Roberto Mancini. A win over the Asian side was Italy’s first in 2018 as they’ve lost 2-0 to Argentina before playing out a 1-1 draw with England. As for France, a victory over the Boys in Green was their second in a row after defeating Russia 3-1.

Two big rivals last met in a friendly game in 2016 when Les Tricolores demolished Gli Azzurri by three goals to one, with Italy looking for their first victory over France since the 2008 European Championship.

Both sides are expected to be at full strength, with Italy facing some changes under the guidance of Roberto Mancini, who decided to introduce a few youngsters to replace the old guard.