[Source: Reuters]

Italy could easily have folded when they conceded an early goal away to France in their Nations League game, but they kept their heads and reacted quickly to earn the 3-1 victory, manager Luciano Spalletti said.

A goal from Bradley Barcola after 12 seconds was a nightmare start, made even worse by the manner Italy conceded, with defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo allowing the French forward to steal possession instead of dealing with a simple back pass.

It was an altogether different Italy to the one seen at Euro 2024, when they put up a feeble attempt at defending their title, winning only one game and going out to Switzerland in the round of 16, and Spalletti praised his squad who won in Paris.

Goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma barely had time to notice the game had started before he was picking the ball out of the net, and he too praised his team’s ability to recover.