Zinedine Zidane insisted France "shouldn't panic" after losing to Italy in the Nations League on Thursday.

Despite taking the lead through Michael Olise, France lost 3-1 in Milan as Zidane was condemned to his first loss since taking over from Didier Deschamps.

Francesco Pio Esposito scored either side of Davide Frattesi's strike as Italy moved top of Group A1 in the competition.

It marked the ninth time France have lost to Italy despite scoring the first goal, the most such defeats Les Bleus have suffered against any nation.

Italy won the expected goals (xG) battle 2.35 to 1.63, though the Azzurri saw their total boosted by two penalties, with Sebastiano Esposito missing the first before his brother Francesco scored the second.

France remain second in the group, on course to reach the quarter-finals, and Zidane believes there is no reason for his players to start panicking.

"There were some good things, especially in the first half where we should have focused on what we did well. After that, we did some less good things," Zidane told TF1.

Les Bleus are defeated in Italy. We’ll be looking to seal our spot in the quarter-finals against Türkiye on Sunday 3-1 #ITAFRA https://t.co/5XboA7EeM6

— French Team  (@FrenchTeam) November 12, 2026

"We lost the match, so naturally there were some more complicated situations, particularly in duels and one-on-one situations; we weren't quite as good. It's all part of the learning process.

"This wasn't a bad game. There's room for improvement. I told the players we shouldn't panic.

"We became more fragile as the match went on. What I told them is that it was a defeat, but not entirely deserved. We did some good things and some not-so-good things.

"We'll analyse it when we're in Bordeaux to prepare for our match. We just need to rest and focus on the game we have left."

France host Turkiye in their final group fixture and can guarantee a place in the quarter-finals with a win in Bordeaux.