Italy spoil Zidane's France homecoming, cancel out Olise's stunner - ESPN

Italy once again proved a formidable foe for Zinedine Zidane, securing a 1-1 draw in Zidane's home debut as France coach Friday.

It looked set to be a joyous homecoming for Zidane at the Stade de France when Michael Olise scored a stunning opening goal in the 55th minute, firing an unstoppable shot from distance off the underside of Gianluigi Donnarumma's crossbar.

But a giveaway from Lucas Da Cunha allowed central defender Alessandro Bastoni to run through and clip a low shot inside the right post 13 minutes later. The hosts continued to be denied by an impressive Donnarumma before France's frustration was compounded late by a red card for defender Dayot Upamecano.

«I'm disappointed for the players because we deserved better,» Zidane said. «We had chances to kill the game off, but we didn't, and football's like that sometimes. But it was encouraging. Honestly, I'm proud of how we played.»

Zidane was facing Italy for the first time since his infamous headbutt in the final of the 2006 World Cup, which saw him sent off in extra time in the last game of his stellar career before Italy triumphed in a penalty shootout.

Having led France to the 1998 World Cup title as a player, his arrival as coach has been met with a wave of enthusiasm. A roar of approval greeted Zidane when his name was read out by the stadium announcer ahead of Friday's game.

Fans at Stade de France then broke out into chants of «Zizou, Zizou» — the affectionate nickname Zidane is known by among French soccer fans — and one banner read «Bienvenue Chez Toi» (Welcome Home).

A train station close to the stadium even had a message waiting for those arriving: «Welcome to Zinedine Zidane's first game in charge,» a woman said over the public address system.

«It