Italy vs France Clash: Kylian Mbappe Ruled Out, Les Blues' Injury Storm Becomes Zidane's Test

France National Team are facing a tough test in the ongoing UEFA Nations League 2026/2027. Les Bleus will travel to Italy's home ground without their captain and primary goalscorer Kylian Mbappé, who has sustained an injury.

Mbappé's absence is a major blow for head coach Zinedine Zidane. Compounding the issue, France have also lost multiple other key players to injury ahead of this match that will define their position in Group A1.

"Mbappé will not play tomorrow. He is injured, we will not take any unnecessary risks with him. We will monitor his recovery progress ahead of the next fixture," Zidane stated to RAI Sport, as quoted by Football Italia on Thursday.

Leading French sports publication L'Equipe had previously reported Mbappé missed the full team training session on Wednesday 11 November 2026 after developing hamstring muscle discomfort.

Zidane later formally confirmed the Real Madrid forward will not be rushed to feature for the away fixture at San Siro Stadium, Milan, scheduled for Thursday local evening.

The France manager remains hopeful his star player will recover in time for their final group stage fixture against Turkey.

Without Mbappé, France must deploy alternative options to preserve their attacking sharpness. Zidane still has available personnel including Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola. Even so, this wave of absences has significantly reduced Les Bleus' squad depth.

France's injury issues extend far beyond Mbappé. Marcus Thuram is ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Pierre Kalulu is suffering from the same condition. Aurélien Tchouaméni also suffered a recurrence of an adductor muscle problem after initially being named in the called up squad.

Additionally, William Saliba, Jules Kounde, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Kone, Ousmane Dembélé, Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul are all unavailable. This crisis has forced Zidane to fully restructure his starting line-up to face one of the strongest opponents in Group A1.

Despite the lengthy injury list, France still hold strong prospects of securing qualification for the Quarter Finals. They currently lead the group table with 10 points from 4 matches, holding a 3 point advantage over second placed Italy. Belgium sit third on 6 points, while Turkey are yet to register a single competition point.

This fixture against Italy presents France with the chance to seal group victory. A win at San Siro will lock in first place and confirm their Quarter Final berth. France can still qualify even without victory, provided they avoid defeat against Italy, or Belgium fail to beat Turkey.

Conversely, Italy require a full three points to keep their own progression hopes alive. Gli Azzurri only hold a 1 point lead over Belgium, leaving the race for the two top qualification spots fully open.

The previous meeting between the sides in Paris during October finished as a 1-1 draw. Michael Olise had put France ahead, before Alessandro Bastoni scored Italy's equaliser. That result indicates this upcoming rematch will once again be a tightly contested encounter.

Following the match in Milan, France will host Turkey on Sunday 15 November local time, equivalent to early morning Monday 16 November WIB. Italy will also play their final group fixture that same Sunday, travelling to face Belgium in Brussels.

For Zidane, this match against Italy represents more than just an opportunity to confirm quarter final qualification. It will also act as a critical benchmark to measure France's ability to maintain consistent performance while missing so many of their regular starting players.