“I have no regrets, it is part of my career.” Speaking to the press on the eve of France vs Italy, Zin\u00e9dine Zidane repeated what he makes of the headbutt he delivered to Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. On Friday night (7.45pm UK time), he leads France against Italy at the Stade de France, on matchday three of the Nations League, in front of a sold-out crowd.<\/p>\n
On 9 July 2006, Zidane opened the scoring in the 7th minute from a panenka penalty; Marco Materazzi equalised in the 19th. In the 110th minute of extra time, with the score at 1-1, Zidane planted his head into Materazzi’s chest: a red card, and a final lost on penalties. “I am not proud of what happened, I have said it and I will say it again,” he explained. “You cannot only do beautiful things, but there have been some beautiful ones too.” The images have never left him: “They remind me of it all the time, because they are on a loop everywhere.”<\/p>\n
Friday’s opponents built the player. Five seasons at Juventus, from 1996 to 2001: 212 appearances, 31 goals, 54 assists, two Serie A titles and the 1998 Ballon d’Or. “Italy and Juve were quite special for me, because that is perhaps where I became an important player,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Italy of 2026 missed the last World Cup. “Seeing Italy knocked out of the final stages of the World Cup feels strange, they are one of the great nations of the game… I expect a difficult match,” he warned. His France side are chasing a third straight win after Belgium (1-0 on Monday) and T\u00fcrkiye (1-0): six points, top of the group. Italy sit on three, beaten 0-2 by Belgium before their 4-1 in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Zidane was back at the Stade de France for the training session. “It is a big emotion… But it will be even bigger tomorrow with the crowd. We are ready for this match. We have prepared it well.” The starting eleven remains blurred: in Thursday’s shape, Upamecano was paired with Yoro and Jacquet with Lacroix, while Dou\u00e9 switched bibs to join Olise and Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 in attack.<\/p>\n