Bastoni leads Italy's comeback against France, confirming his class

Italy secured a valuable 1-1 draw against France on the third matchday of the UEFA Nations League, thanks to Alessandro Bastoni's second consecutive goal. The result keeps qualification hopes alive and highlights the growing role of the Italian defender.

The comeback goal against France

Bastoni, having already found the net against Turkey, scored his second consecutive goal in the match against France. He received the ball from distance, played it through to Da Cunha at the edge of the Bleus' area and beat Maignan to bring the score to 1-1.

The goal came in a comeback that levelled Italy at home, demonstrating the defender's ability to decide the team's fate on his own.

Bastoni's words after the match

At the end of the match, Bastoni spoke to Rai's microphones, stating: "It was a tough game, we knew it and it's not new. But I'm happy with the team's performance: we fought, suffered, perhaps even thwarted France's objective."

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Regarding the second goal, he added: "It certainly feels good, but what I thought after the goal was not to go back to being on the back foot because that would have been pointless."

The defender then reaffirmed his confidence: "I didn't expect two goals, but I've never lost belief in myself. I won't let one or two episodes spoil a career built over more than 300 matches."

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He concluded with a look to the future: "We believed because, despite them having more possession, we had the better chances in the first half. This should not be an end point but a starting point. Keep heads down, there's another important match ahead: keep moving forward, we don't listen to praise or criticism."