‘Fear doesn’t exist’ – Zidane relishing home debut as France boss

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Zinedine Zidane is relishing what he believes will be a “very emotional” return to the Stade de France as he prepares for his first home match as France boss.

Les Bleus take on Italy in the Nations League on Friday, aiming to continue their perfect start in the competition.

After Kylian Mbappe helped secure a 1-0 win over Turkiye in their opener, Michael Olise’s late stunner against Belgium clinched another 1-0 victory in the competition.

France completed 92.8% of their passes in the opponent’s half against Belgium, their highest pass completion rate during a match over the last 20 years.

Zidane insists there is no fear ahead of his home debut, which he hopes to mark with an important win.

“It is very emotional being back here, and will be even more so when the stands are packed with fans,” said Zidane in his press conference.

“Fear doesn’t exist, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’ve never thought about failure in my career. On the contrary, I see only opportunities.

“I have an incredible team, I’m ready to make the dream come true, and I’m going to give it my all.”

Séance de frappes devant le but avant le match contre l’Italie  pic.twitter.com/GeYTzjehFb

— Equipe de France  (@equipedefrance) October 1, 2026

France and Italy also met in the 2024-25 Nations League group stage, with the away side winning 3-1 on both occasions.

Zidane has a history with Italy; he infamously headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest during the 2006 World Cup final, which the Azzurri won after Zidane was sent off.

“The images are being replayed everywhere on a loop, I’ve seen them,” added Zidane.

“I haven’t spoken to Materazzi since that day. I’m not proud of what I did. I’ve always said that, but at the same time, I have no regrets. It is part of my career.

“Fortunately, that is not all that I did in my career. There are positive and enjoyable moments, and I prefer to remember those. You can’t just have a career of all great moments.”

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